Making antibiotic choices in bovine medicine

Abstract

Selection of therapeutic antibiotics for use in bovine patients can be a difficult decision, particularly when clinical experience is limited. A limited number of antimicrobial drugs are available to the bovine practitioner, and extra-label drug use is restricted in food animal medicine. Factors of the target infectious agent, the host and management scheme, as well as the drug must be considered when prescribing or administering antibiotics. The goal of this presentation is to review the major antibiotics available to the bovine practitioner, and provide a brief outline of the restrictions of extra-label drug use in cattle with the aim of applying this knowledge to selection of antibiotics for use in beef or dairy cattle.