Long-acting oxytetracycline for control of induced Pasteurella multocida rhinitis in swine

A long-acting oxytetracycline formulation was evaluated for control of rhinitis induced experimentally in pigs with a capsular type A, toxin-negative, low-passage strain of Pasteurella multocida. The pigs were 6 to 7 weeks old and were naturally infected with Haemophilus parasuis. The H parasuis infection was thought to predispose to establishment of P multocida in the nasal cavity. A long-acting oxytetracycline formulation was given IM at the rate of 20 mg/kg, 4 times at 5-day intervals. Medication reduced (P less than 0.05) the severity of turbinate atrophy and the proportion of pigs with P multocida and H parasuis in their nasal cavities. Numbers of colonies of P multocida and H parasuis isolated were also less in medicated pigs.