Medicinforbrug og dødelighed i økologisk og konventionel slagtesvineproduktion

Svineproduktion spiller en stor rolle i Danmark. Vi er verdens største eksportør af svinekød, og svinekød er stadig danskernes foretrukne, når der skal kød på bordet. Der er imidlertid stor opmærksomhed på og bekymring for svins sundhed og medicinforbrug. Der bruges væsentlig mere antibiotika i den animalske produktion end til humant brug i Danmark, og svineproduktionen tegner sig for mere end 80% af antibiotikaforbruget inden for landbruget. Økologisk svinekød står som et alternativ til konventionelt svinekød, og forbrugerne har en forventning om, at økologiske svin lever sundere og at de har et lavere medicinforbrug. For at få et billede af svins sundhedstilstand er det nødvendigt at anvende flere forskellige kilder. Det er ikke umiddelbart nemt at danne et samlet billede af svins sundhedstilstand og at svare på, hvor sunde konventionelle grise er, og om de økologiske grise er sundere end de konventionelle. Det var baggrunden for, at vi over en 2-årig periode har gennemført et projekt, der har til formål at danne et samlet billede af konventionelle og økologiske slagtesvins sundhed og medicinforbrug. Projektet, der har været finansieret af Fonden for Økologisk landbrug, svineafgiftsfonden samt Danmarks Jordbrugsforskning er nu færdigt. Vi præsenterer analyserne på seminaret den 24. januar 2006, på Forskningscenter Foulum. En anden bekymring som forbrugeren har i relation til svinekød er risikoen for en Salmonella infektion fra svinekød. Vi har på grundlag af viden om produktionsforhold på en række slagtesvinebesætninger med henholdsvis økologisk produktion, konventionel udendørs produktion og konventionel indendørs produktion gennemført en risikovurdering for salmonella i primærproduktionen indenfor de tre produktionssystemer. Denne analyse er gennemført i regi af EU-projektet QualityLowInputFeed. Ved temamødet bringer vi endvidere et indlæg om hvordan forbrugerne ser på svinekød, der bliver præsenteret af Lektor Jesper Lassen fra CeBRA. Denne publikation indeholder sammendrag af præsentationerne fra temadagen

Ingen forskel på dødelighed mellem økologiske og konventionelle slagtesvinebesætninger, men de konventionelle havde et tre gange så stort medicinforbrug

Dødeligheden blandt slagtesvin i Danmark er mere end fordoblet de sidste 25 år. Samme tendens ses i forbruget af antibiotika til slagtesvin, hvor der inden for blot 2 år er sket en stigning på 19% (Jensen og Heuer, 2005). Disse tal er dog ikke opgjort særskilt for økologiske og konventionelle bedrifter, og da det økologiske regelsæt foreskriver, at grise, der behandles med antibiotika mere end én gang, ændrer status til konventionelle, kan man godt forestille sig, at fl ere økologiske grise blev afl ivet som alternativ til medicinering, og at dødeligheden derved blev højere i økologiske besætninger

Øko-grise får mindre antibiotika

Danmarks JordbrugsForskning har i de sidste to år gennemført en større analyse af sundhedstilstanden hos økologiske og konventionelle slagtesvin, hvor vi bl.a. har inddraget besætningernes antibiotikaforbrug. Forbruget af antibiotika er interessant både i forhold til at vurdere sundheden hos svin, men også fordi et højt forbrug kan øge antallet af resistente bakterier, hvorved mulighederne for effektivt at behandle syge mennesker og dyr med antibiotika begrænses. Når vi diskuterer antibiotikaforbruget, er vores husdyr ofte i fokus. I Danmark bruger vi mere end dobbelt så meget antibiotika til husdyr som til mennesker. Mere end 80 pct. af antibiotikaforbruget til husdyr ordineres i svineproduktionen, og tallet er stigende

Nye tal på svinesundhed

I 2004 har forskere fra Danmarks JordbrugsForskning besøgt 16 økologiske og 50 indendørs slagtesvinebesætninger for at vurdere grisenes sundhedstilstand. Vi fandt lige mange grise med sygdomsbemærkninger i de to systemer. 12,8 pct. af de økologiske grise og 14,4 pct. af de indendørs grise havde sygdomsbemærkninger. I begge systemer havde 3,6 pct. af grisene alvorlige sygdomsbemærkninger, som ofte vil være behandlingskrævende

Welfare and productivity of laying hens in commercial organic egg production systems in Denmark

Plumage condition, use of outdoor run, mortality and productivity were recorded in 18 Danish commercial organic egg-producing flocks consisting of 1200–5000 hens each. Between 7 and 38% of the hens in a flock used the outdoor run, with a mean of 18%. In most flocks the majority of the hens outside stayed close to the hen house, but some farmers succeeded in attracting the hens away from the house, which reduced the percentage of hens staying close to the house to 15%. At the age of 56 weeks, six flocks had little or no plumage damage, whereas four flocks showed severe feather pecking, but here feather pecking was already evident at an age of 28 weeks. Plumage condition was not significantly correlated with use of the outdoor run. The range in mortality rate amongst flocks was 9–62%, with an average of 22%. The high mortality was partly due to outbreaks of Pasteurella, mortality reaching over 50% in two of the four afflicted flocks. In some flocks also predatory attacks and piling (causing suffocation of the lowest birds) caused mortality. Average egg production was better than reported for Danish organic and free-range non-organic farms, but feed consumption and feed conversion rate were slightly higher. The results of this study do not provide a definite answer to the question whether or not hens should be kept outside

Økologisk ægproduktion: Produktion, sundhed, ernæring og næringsstofhusholdning

Økologisk ægproduktion har bidt sig fast som en af Danmarks største økologiske fødevaresucceser målt som andel produceret og solgt økologisk. Økologisk ægproduktion er efter økologisk mælkeproduktion den vigtigste animalske økologiske produktion i Danmark. Det er imidlertid en produktionsform, der er følsom overfor kritik. I forbrugernes øjne er økologiske æg et alternativ til æg fra burægproduktion, som primært er kritiseret for manglende dyrevelfærd. Det er derfor vigtigt, at den økologiske ægproduktion kan dokumentere en tilfredsstillende dyrevelfærd. Dette aktualiseres af, at traditionel burægsproduktion er under udfasning i EU og at økologisk ægproduktion i fremtiden skal konkurrere mod nye alternative indhusningsformer med fokus på dyrevelfærd. I den økologiske bevægelse er der bekymring over den miljømæssige bæredygtighed i ensidig økologisk ægproduktion. Det er derfor vigtigt for de økologiske ægproducenter at kunne dokumentere et tilfredsstillende næringsstofregnskab

Forbedrede udearealer i økologisk ægproduktion

Med henblik på at styrke forsknings- og udviklingsindsatsen inden for økologisk fjerkræproduktion, blev det muligt med finansiering fra Direktoratet for FødevareErhverv, i 2001 at påbegynde udviklingsprojektet ”Fjerkræets udearealer ved økologisk produktion”. Projektet tog udgangspunkt i en række interessetilkendegivelser fra fjerkræproducenter og andre interesserede indenfor økologisk fjerkræproduktion, og projektet blev planlagt i et samarbejde mellem • Brancheforeningen for Økologiske Æg- og Fjerkræproducenter • Dansk Erhvervsfjerkræ • Landsforeningen for Økologisk Jordbrug • Landskontoret for Fjerkrærådgivning og • Danmarks JordbrugsForskning som koordinerende partner Det var en grundlæggende ide i projektet at tage udgangspunkt i de medvirkende producenters allerede opbyggede erfaringsgrundlag og idéer til videre udvikling. En del af projektet tog udgangspunkt i en interessetilkendegivelse fra en gruppe ægproducenter, ”Hønsegården” A.m.b.a., der havde et samarbejde om videndeling og afsætning. Producenterne havde i samarbejde med Landskontoret for Fjerkrærådgivning identificeret udearealerne (hønsegårdene) som et centralt område, hvor der var behov for yderligere viden om den mest hensigtsmæssige indretning og drift i forhold til såvel hønernes produktivitet og velfærd som miljøeffekter. Rapporten beskriver de opnåede resultater fra denne del af projektet og på grundlag heraf gives anbefalinger til, hvorledes udearealerne mest hensigtsmæssigt bør indrettes

Inflammatory markers as correlates of body composition and grip strength among adults with and without HIV: A cross-sectional study in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Changes in body composition and muscle strength are common among individuals with HIV. We investigated the associations of inflammation with body composition and grip strength in adults with and without HIV. METHODS: Cross-sectional study among Ethiopian treatment-naïve individuals with and without HIV. Fat mass and fat-free mass adjusted for height (kg/m2) were used as indicators of body composition. RESULTS: 288/100 individuals with/without HIV were included between July 2010 and August 2012. Females with HIV had lower fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) than females without HIV, whereas no difference was seen between males with and without HIV. Males and females with HIV had lower grip strength than their counterparts without HIV. Serum alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (s-AGP) was negatively correlated with FMI (-0.71 kg/m2, 95% CI: -1.2; -0.3) among individuals with HIV, and those with HIV and serum C-reactive protein (s-CRP) ≥ 10 mg/l had 0.78 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.4; -0.2) lower FMI than those with s-CRP < 10 mg/l. In contrast, s-AGP was positively correlated with FMI (2.09 kg/m2, 95% CI 0.6; 3.6) in individuals without HIV. S-CRP and AGP were negatively associated with grip strength in individuals with HIV, while no correlation was observed among those without HIV. CONCLUSION: Inflammation was positively associated with FMI in individuals without HIV while it was negatively associated with FMI in those with HIV, indicating that inflammation may be one of the drivers of depleting energy reserves among treatment-naïve individuals with HIV. Inflammation was associated with decreased muscle quantity and functional capacity among individuals with HIV, but not in those without HIV

Health status in organic pig herds in Europe

Introduction Organic pig production is still a small-scale produc-tion, achieving, however, increased interest by con-sumers who are concerned about the conventional production method. The EU-Regulation (EEC-No. 1804/1999) on organic livestock production, now replaced by EEC-No 834/2007, was introduced to provide a framework ensuring living conditions for organic livestock to be better than those in conven-tional systems and to harmonize the rules across member states. Scientifically based information on how and to what degree the EU-Regulation contrib¬utes to the objective of a high status of pig health in organic farming is scarce. Further information is needed to assess whether consumer expectations in organic pig production in Europe are met. MATERIAL AND METHODS An epidemiological study was performed on 101 organic sow herds in 6 European countries (Denmark, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy and France). 13 to 20 farms per country were assessed. On-farm data included a comprehensive interview with the herd manager in relation to housing conditions, feeding regime, data acquisition, cleaning and disinfection measures, medicine usage, culling reasons, vaccina¬tion protocols, etc.. Recorded livestock data included: liveborn and stillborn piglets/farrowing, weaned piglets/sow/year, piglet losses/farrowing, losses of weaned piglets, litters /sow lifetime, and the preva-lence of diseases according to the treatment records. Data from all countries were merged into one joint database and analysed statistically. Results Although dedicated to the same minimum standards, the farm structures were characterised by a huge heterogeneity. 67 farms were keeping their sows outdoors while 34 farms were indoors with outside runs. Group suckling was implemented on 52% of the farms. The degree of specialisation was compara¬tively low. About 40% of the farms had another eco¬nomically relevant livestock enterprise on the farm apart from keeping pigs. Farmers differed widely in their feeding regimes, in making use of phase feeding and diet calculations. Moreover, the farms varied in the cleaning management and in the implementation of disinfection measures. The study also revealed large differences in animal health management with respect to the use of quarantine, availability of hospi¬tal pens, presence of the farmer during farrowing, and regarding routine measures such as castration, teeth reduction, and iron supplementation of piglets. For 50 % of the farms the abattoirs provided feedback of pathological findings for slaughtered sows, and 80 % for fattening pigs. Huge differ-ences were detected in the perception of the farmers with regard to health problems on their farm and with respect to the availability of labo-ratory results. Mean mortality rates of piglets until and after weaning averaged 19.7 ± 9.7% and 4.9 ± 5.4% resp., showing clear differences between coun¬tries and farms. Mean values for the annual re¬placement rates of sows and litters per sow life-time were 32.4 ± 14.3% and 6.3 ± 2.3 resp. Ac-cording to the treatment records, metritis and mastitis appeared as the predominant diseases of the sows, nearly all treated with antibiotics, fol-lowed by cases of lameness and abscesses. In the case of suckling piglets, diarrhoea, arthritis and respiratory diseases were predominant. Also the weaned piglets suffered primarily from diarrhoea. Farms showed an incidence of 27.6 ± 34.3%. of piglets treated with antibiotics against diarrhoea. Conclusions The results indicated that in general the status of animal health in organic pig herds was compara¬ble to data found on conventional farms. Differ¬ences between farms appear to be greater than those between production methods. Obviously, the production method defined by standards does not provide a homogenous outcome with respect to the animal health status. Differences in man¬agement practices and in feedback and control mechanisms within the farm system might be the main reasons for substantial variation in the prevalence rates of diseases. Any improvements in organic pig production require the use of feed¬back mechanisms and a clear definition of the expected results with respect to the outcome of the farm system. Consequently, there is a need for a change in the paradigm from standard and resource oriented to a result and outcome ori¬ented approach. The implementation of a moni¬toring system including on farm clinical assess¬ment, abattoir data and review of treatment data, concepts to deal with potential problems (e.g. health planning strategies, HACCP protocols, etc.) and a definition of the expected results with respect to the output of the farm system might be a way forward for organic farming ensuring a high status of animal health and welfare