Drug administration to poultry

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-409X(02)00069-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Drugs can be administered to birds either individually or as a flock treatment. For poultry, drinking water and feed medication are preferred, but in the case of serious disease, parenteral administration can be an alternative. For an efficient and safe therapy, data on drug pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are required. Therefore, the gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology of birds, and the elimination of drugs in birds are discussed in this review. In addition, important aspects of drinking water medication, such as water quality, individual water uptake, drinking water system, lighting periods and drug formulations are discussed. Also, some requirements concerning feed medication are mentioned. Finally, parenteral and vaccine administration in the poultry industry are described.

Introduction

Veterinary drugs can be administered to birds individually or as a flock treatment. For poultry, the preferred method is medication on an oral flock basis (via drinking water medication or feed medication). This is because large numbers of birds can be medicated at the same time. However, in the case of acute disease with serious losses of animals, parenteral therapy offers a valuable alternative.

However, the method of medication is often complicated by other factors such as animal welfare, avoidance of tissue damage and stress. These factors can determine the method of administration of a drug in avian species. Therefore the optimal solution for treatment of disease and choice of drug in poultry is not always obvious.

The major consideration in determining the method of administration to birds is ease of administration. The formulation of a drug intended for use in avian species is frequently dictated by the need for a practical and economical method of administration. Drinking water is the most favoured method of administration, but, to a lesser extent, feed medication is an acceptable method of administration in the poultry industry.

For an efficient and safe therapy, information on formulation, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic aspects for each drug are required. However, notwithstanding the fact that drugs are frequently administered to poultry (17% of the total of therapeutic drugs used in veterinary medicine are administered to poultry), information on avian pharmacotherapy is still scarce. This often restricts the correct use of drugs in birds. An additional issue in this respect is that differences in drug handling exist between bird species. Birds such as ducks, broilers, laying hens, turkeys, quails, etc., are all farmed on an industrial scale. Therefore a major problem is the extrapolation of data from one bird species to another. Even more difficult is the application of findings generated in mammalian research to avian medicine. Therefore it can be appreciated that a safe and efficacious treatment scheme for birds is difficult to establish. However, knowledge of the important avian anatomical and physiological aspects relevant to drug therapy that affect the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic processes of drugs when administered to birds will aid the formulation of avian dosage forms. Some of these aspects are discussed below.

Section snippets

Gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology in birds

Gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology in birds are very different from mammalian species. This will influence, in a very important way, the different pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic processes of most drugs. Because oral therapy accounts for more than 90% of total drug administration in poultry, absorption and bioavailability are factors that have to be thoroughly described. Major differences regarding anatomy and physiology that have to be mentioned in relation to the absorption of drugs

Drug elimination in poultry

As in mammals, drugs are mostly eliminated by a combination of biotransformation (mainly hepatic) and renal excretion processes. Concerning biotransformation, it is important to mention that relatively little is known about avian cytochrome P450 forms and biliary excretion of drugs in birds. Very few forms of the metabolizing enzymes have been fully characterized in poultry [5]. Although it is recognized that metabolism of drugs mostly exhibits similar pathways for different animal species, the

Drinking water medication

In poultry, drinking water medication—more than in other areas of veterinary drug therapy—is frequently used. Drinking water medication in poultry offers several advantages and a few disadvantages in relation to therapeutic and prophylactic treatment. Important advantages are the low cost of organization, low work load, the ease of administration, immediate therapeutical care for all diseased or endangered animals in the flock and a quick change of drug and/or dose is possible. Besides,

The importance of vaccination in the poultry industry

In the poultry industry it has become necessary to provide and develop effective methods of mass vaccination aiming to vaccinate a high enough number of birds in the flock in order to prevent and/or minimize the effects of a particular disease. The most widely used vaccines are live attenuated virus vaccines which can be administered to birds by techniques such as drinking water, spray application, eye drop or by injection [15].

Drinking water medication is an appropriate method of

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