Antibiotic reduction on farms in the United Kingdom, as a result of the introduction of PCV2 vaccination in piglets

Porcine Circovirus Disease (PCVD) was first described in the UK in 1997\u27. Since 1999 it has been a major cause of mortality in the pig industry and has been estimated to cost the British pig industry £30M per year (2004)2 The introduction of PCV2 vaccines has allowed greater control of PCVD, a significant reduction in mortality and an improvement in production parameters in herds throughout the UK3 Sporadic Porcine Dermatitis and Nephropathy Syndrome (PDNS) has been observed as an early indicator of PCVD on some farms and may also be a reflection of post-PMWS in the British national herd. This study looks at the improvement in mortality, performance and the reduction in antibiotics in pigs sourced from a 900 sow unit in East Anglia, England, (Farm A) following the introduction of lngelvac CircoFLEX®. \u27Farm A\u27 is one of 28 breeding units belonging to a large commercial pig business (comprising 26,000 sows in total). This study also analyses the reduction in overall medication costs for all the pigs reared in this company in 2007 compared to 2008, following the introduction of lngelvac CircoFLEX®