Livestock, animal health drugs

Antimicrobial drug use in food animal production is fundamental to animal health and well-being and to the economics of the livestock industry. Therefore the pmdent use of antimicrobials is critically important because few new drugs are entering the market, and existing uses need to be preserved for as long as is practicable. Pmdent use will minimize the development of antimicrobial resistance and maximize therapeutic effect. When introducing new products onto the market, pharmaceutical companies need to mle out the presence of cross-resistance to old products... 

Furaltadone, NFT, and NFZ are listed in Annex IV of EC Council regulation 2377/90 therefore no MRLs have been established for these drugs, and their use is prohibited in livestock production within the EU (2). Furazolidone was added to the list of prohibited compounds in 1995. This decision was taken because FZD residues, at whatever limit, in foodstuffs of animal origin constitute a hazard to the health of the consumer (137). 

The economic importance of other protozoal diseases in domestic animals has received much attention as well. It has been estimated that nearly 1.2 billion cattle in the world are potentially exposed to the risk of babesiasis caused by different species of Babesia. The highest economic loss due to Babesia spp. in cattle occurs in the U.S.A., Australia, South Africa and South America [44,45]. Trypanosomiasis is another important disease of cattle. The impact of this infection is spread over 10 million square kilometers area of Africa extending from the Sahara to Limpopo and threatens the health of over 25 million cattle and 35 million people. This may be responsible for severe economic losses, which is evident from the fact that livestock in Africa are treated with more than 25 million doses of various trypanosomicidal drugs every year [46]. Trypanosomiasis in cattle may, therefore, be one of the reasons why Africa produces about 70 times less animal protein per unit area than Europe [47]. 

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