An antimicrobial weapon against respiratory illness in feedlot cattle can now also be used against pneumonias in hogs and non-lactating dairy cattle.

Bayer HealthCare’s Canadian animal health division announced Oct. 24 it has approvals to sell its injectable enrofloxacin solution, Baytril 100, to treat swine respiratory disease (SRD) in hogs, and to treat bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in non-lactating dairy cattle under 20 months of age.

“Left untreated, respiratory disease in pigs causes lung damage and increases mortality, impacting the bottom line,” Dr. Bruce Kilmer, director of technical services and regulatory affairs for Bayer HealthCare’s animal health arm, said in a release.

Researchers have found SRD can increase hog feed costs by adding up to six additional days to market. Pneumonia can also reduce pig growth rates by as much as eight per cent, the company added.

Similarly, the long-term costs of BRD in dairy replacements include decreased growth, delayed age to first calving, premature culling from the herd and, as a result, reduced profitability.

Left untreated BRD “impedes growth and increases morbidity.” The cost of replacing dairy heifers in Canada is estimated at $2,200 each.

The product has been available to veterinarians since 2004 to treat recurring respiratory disease in “high-risk” feedlot cattle, the company said.

In hogs, Baytril 100 is administered as a single-dose therapy and “should not be used as a mass medication.” For non-lactating dairy cattle, it can be administered as a single-dose therapy or as a multiple-day therapy, but again shouldn’t be used as an enmasse medication, the company said. In all cases, it should be used “after first choice treatment has failed.”

In hogs, Bayer said, Baytril’s bactericidal effects work against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida and Haemophilus parasuis, the “major culprits” in swine SRD.

In young cattle, Bayer added, Baytril 100 kills Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica, the chief causes of BRD.

The product is “concentration dependent, not time dependent,” the company said.