VALNEMULIN - FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF COLITIS AND ILEITIS

Summary Valnemulin (Econor – Novartis) was approved originally in 1999 by the European Union (EU) for the prevention and treatment of swine dysentery caused by Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and enzootic pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Recent work has showed that valnemulin is also highly active against B. pilosicoli, a spirochaete with many similarities to B. hyodysenteriae, which causes porcine spirochaetal diarrhoea or colitis, a milder form of diarrhoea in grower pigs. It has also been shown to have a high level of intracellular activity against Lawsonia intracellularis, the cause of porcine proliferative enteropathy or ileitis. The paper reviews the clinical trial work, both artificial challenge models and field studies, that enabled valnemulin to be recently approved for the prevention of colitis and treatment of ileitis in the EU.