Specialist Stubbon URI in elderly piggy.. what next?

[Chris24]

Hi everyone,

Our eldest (10 y/o) sow, Peaches, has unfortunately been suffering for a URI for the past month. During this time she has been on a course of Baytril and Sulfatrim as well as daily F10/saline solutions but she has continued to gradually lose weight. She is still eating of her own accord and her general appetite is good but the weight loss has reached a level where i'm quite concerned. There are some days when we thought it had gone but the next morning she had a crusty nose again.

We had some cultures taken and it came back with the below two bacterial infections:

Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus
Corynebacterium spp

The staph infection is listed as resistant to both sulfatrim and doxycycline. The report didn't mention Baytril (enrofloxacin) but the vet said it was resistant to that as well.

I asked the vet for next steps but they are reluctant to switch from the "safe" antibiotics due to the risk of imbalance to the gut flora. They suggested we keep her on the Sulfatrim and manage the condition.

It's a tricky one as I know the wrong antibiotic can have really bad consequences (we've experienced this already) but with the continuous weight loss I feel we might have to go down this route.

Does anyone have experience of successfully treating stubbon URIs with antibiotics other than Baytril and Sulfatrim? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Chris

 

[Wiebke]

I know that doxycycline and zithromax have been both used.
Has your vet checked the heart?

I am linking in some members with more medical/medications knowledge than myself.
@Jaycey @helen105281 @furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[Chris24]

They managed to take one x-ray from the top before she wriggled too much and everything looked OK. Due to her age we didn't want her to undergo a general.

The vet didn't sound too sure what antibiotics to go for next but so I said I would get a second opinion as they are happy to medicate based on this.

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

My late boar Zebedee had a URI for 3 months that Baytril and Septrin had failed to clear up; in the end, I had been referred to an exotics vet about my other boar and she told me that Zithromax can be used. Fortunately my regular vet was happy to talk to her and find out about doses etc, and it did indeed do the trick.
He was prone to URIs, and subsequently was treated with Zithromax for them at least six times over the next 2 years.
I hope you can find the right treatment for your piggie, she is an amazing age!

 

[Chris24]

I hope you can find the right treatment for your piggie, she is an amazing age!

Thank you I hope so too! Our little lady definitely has some Duracells inside her she's a little trooper and it feels like Peaches has been around since forever! FYI she is the piggy in my signature.

 

[Merab]

Can’t help but wanted to offer support

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Zithromax is brilliant for respiratory issues. We’ve also had very good results with Karidox (doxycycline) and also Marbocyl

 

[Chris24]

@furryfriends (TEAS) thank you very much for the suggestions. What sort of Zithromax dosage have you used in the past? At the present time Peaches weighs just under 800g.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

We dose at 1 ml per kilo body weight, so for a piggy weighing around 800g, give 0.8 ml once a day or you can split it and give 0.4 ml twice daily.

 

[VickiA]

We’ve had good results with Marbocyl for URI combined with nebulising daily.

 

[Chris24]

We started her on Zithromax as of yesterday (0.5ml daily which we are doing as 2 x 0.25). Her poos have gone a bit squishy so we've added some probiotic to the water bottles. Fingers crossed the new antibiotics will shift the infection in the next few weeks.

Thank you all for your help and advice on this!

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

We started her on Zithromax as of yesterday (0.5ml daily which we are doing as 2 x 0.25). Her poos have gone a bit squishy so we've added some probiotic to the water bottles. Fingers crossed the new antibiotics will shift the infection in the next few weeks.

Thank you all for your help and advice on this!

How much does she weigh? Is she a tiny piggy?

 

[Chris24]

At the moment about 775g (900g before the infection). The vet chose to go in the middle of their recommended dosage chart (I guess to avoid too much tummy upset).

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I’ve never found it to upset tummies but then I do add a heaped scoop of probiotic to syringe food, so maybe that’s why.

 

[Chris24]

I'm pleased to report that Peaches has come on leaps and bounds since we started her on the Zithromax. Within a few days there were no more crusty noses and she is looking much more bright eyed with her weight increasing by 50g.

I know with her age nothing is guaranteed but we're so pleased with her progress.

Peachy would like to thank everyone for helping her to feel better.