Elanco Animal Health has unveiled a new product designed to reduce the incidence and severity of diarrhea caused by E. Coli in weaned pigs.
Surmax 200, a new swine product from Elanco Animal Health, is a first-in-class, animal-use only antibiotic for reduction in the incidence and severity of diarrhea caused by pathogenic E. coli in groups of weaned pigs up to 14 weeks of age.
The product is administer in feed to pigs at risk of developing but not yet showing clinical signs of diarrhea.
Dr. Peter Provis, the Veterinary Technical Consultant for Swine with Elanco Animal Health Canada, says this is an animal use only product and requires a veterinary feed prescription.
The active ingredient in Surmax 200 is an antibiotic called Avilamycin which belongs to a brand new family of antibiotics called the orthosomycin family.
The product is delivered in the feed and is intended to be fed to the pigs just prior to an onset of E. coli post weaning diarrhea problems for control and for the reduction in the instance and severity of post weaning E. coli diarrhea.
Post weaning diarrhea caused by E. coli is quite a prevalent problem throughout North America.
There has been some surveys done recently which would indicate that post weaning diarrhea cause by E. coli would have a prevalence of up to 40 percent through North America and even higher in other parts of the globe.
We do have some efficacy studies that have been required for approval of the product in Canada and those studies show efficacy in terms of it reducing the instance and the severity of post weaning diarrhea in recently weaned pigs. ~ Dr. Peter Provis – Elanco Animal Health
Dr. Provis notes the active ingredient in Surmax 200 has also been approved, under a different trade name, in the United States and approvals are in the works in other jurisdictions.
