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The European College of Porcine Health Management (ECPHM) and the European Association of Porcine Health Management (EAPHM) organized their 10th Symposium on May 9-11 in Barcelona. Around 2000 delegates from 55 countries attended this annual pig veterinary event. On 400 communications, 2 focused on current debates about zinc in piglet feed.
A study from Ghent University (Belgium) compared the effect of different sources of zinc oxide on the growth of enterobacteria in the small intestine of weaned piglets. Pharmacological dosage of standard zinc oxide and nutritional dosage of HiZox®, a potentiated form of zinc oxide, showed reduction in E. coli counts compared to the negative control. A source of encapsulated zinc oxide, tested at 110 and 220 ppm of zinc supplemented, had no effect on bacterial counts.
A second study, from Berlin University (Germany), was one of the three oral presentations selected for the session ‘Welfare and nutrition’. In this study, the effect of chlortetracycline (CTC) and zinc oxide was studied on antibiotic resistance genes of weaned piglets. Both zinc oxide at high level (ZnO) and CTC increase the development of antibiotic resistance genes, and may have an additive effect on these genes.
July 2, 2018 - Animine
