Influence of personal attitude of the manager on antibiotic use in pig production

The attitude as well as the expertise of a person affect the behavior and actions in daily life. To investigate the influence of attitude and knowledge of pig producers on the use of antibiotics in farms, 220 Swiss pig producers were questioned on health awareness, attitude towards sustainable production, risk behavior, intrinsic motivation and knowledge about antibiotics and resistance development. In addition, the strategy of antibiotic use (therapeutic or prophylactic) and the business practice (single or group therapy) for the amount of antibiotics on one hand and for the risk of antibiotic resistance development on the other hand, were determined in a personal interview. Farmers using antibiotics only therapeutically had a better business practice. A direct link between the personal attitude and the antibiotic use or a higher risk of development of antibiotic resistance was not found in this investigation.