Topics and Briefing Documents

Poultry Medicines

Poultry, like humans, can suffer from infectious disease. Birds deserve the protection of modern medicines.

Just as in humans, poultry medicines are used to prevent and cure disease. They fall into two categories; vaccines and pharmaceuticals. Because of the need to prevent disease spreading, it is usual to treat all the birds in a house or pen at the same time.

1. Vaccines

Vaccines are preventive medicines which stimulate the body's natural immune system to protect against a particular disease or parasite.

Poultry vaccines, like human vaccines, can be either live or inactivated.

(i) Live vaccines - usually given in the drinking water, or by aerosol spray or injection. These help protect birds of all ages.

(ii) Inactivated vaccines - given by injection, usually to older birds before the start of egg production, to protect both the bird and its offspring.

2. Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals (antibiotics or synthetic chemicals) are given in water or feed. Water-based products are generally used to treat outbreaks of parasitic or bacterial diseases; in-feed products may be used either for prevention or treatment.

In the UK, all medicines for animal use must be licensed under the Medicines Act 1968, various EC Directives and Regulations and their subsequent Statutory Instruments. This involves thorough examination by independent scientific experts and officials on behalf of the Licensing Authority.

To obtain a marketing authorisation, formerly called a "product licence", a company has to provide a great deal of information about the product. It must carry out extensive scientific tests to prove it can meet very strict standards on safety, quality and effectiveness. The dossier containing the results of these tests must be sent to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate of DEFRA, or for a product going for EU-wide approval, to the European Medicines Evaluation Agency.

Every batch of the product has to reach high quality standards demanded by the experts and show that a quality control programme has been established to ensure this. The company must also show, through clinical trials, that the product will do what they say it will do - that it is effective.

But above all, the company must show that the product is safe: safe not only for the bird which receives it, but safe for the human who consumes the poultry meat or eggs produced from the bird, safe for the farmer who administers the medicine, safe for the environment, and, if the medicine is incorporated in feed, safe for the mill worker who prepares the feed.

Extensive tests are also performed to make sure that no harmful residues of the medicine remain in the poultry meat, or eggs. A withdrawal period is approved for each product calculated on the basis of its Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). The bird cannot be used for human consumption, neither can any eggs be sold, until this period has passed.

To protect the environment, the company must also prove that the use of the medicine will not harm wildlife, fish or plants, or cause river or soil pollution. Only when the Licensing Authority is satisfied, is the product authorised for use.

Poultry medicine labels carry detailed information and the product data sheet gives even more. The information includes how the medicine can be used, the dosage, method of administration, contra-indications, how long before the bird or its eggs enter the food chain must the medicine be withdrawn from use, and how the medicine must be stored. All this must be agreed as part of the authorisation process.

For more information see NOAH Briefing Document No 19 'Controls on Animal Medicines' or the IFAH-Europe website www.ifahsec.org

It is essential to ensure that users of the products and consumers of poultry meat or eggs can have confidence in what they use and eat.

The licensing system is the background to that confidence.

The sale and supply of animal medicines in the UK is strictly controlled by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and policed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Depending on their classification, licensed poultry medicines may only be purchased from a veterinary surgeon, pharmacist or registered animal health distributor.

Poultry vaccines are classified as either 'Pharmacy and Merchants List' (PML) and available from registered merchants, or 'Prescription Only Medicine' (POM) which are available only on the prescription of a vet.

Products to be incorporated in feed are mostly classified MFS, which means they may only be included in the feed in accordance with an MFS Prescription from a vet (formerly Veterinary Written Direction). A number of in-feed products are classified as MFSX, which means they are exempt from the need for a prescription.

As described above, all medicines come with detailed manufacturers' instructions on how to use them. In addition, for antibiotics, there is additional advice, such as the RUMA Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Antibiotics for Poultry. (See www.ruma.org.uk) Young birds are more susceptible to some diseases, so medicines may only need to be given at the start of a bird's life. Scrupulous records of all medicine use must be kept by farmers, showing the date and details of treatment, plus a note of any required withdrawal period before birds may be slaughtered or their products, such as eggs, may enter the food chain. This helps with traceability.

All birds intended for human consumption are examined by slaughterhouse inspectors for evidence of disease or injury and, under the terms of the Statutory Surveillance Scheme, random samples of poultry meat (labelled with the farm of origin) are taken for residue testing to ensure that producers have adhered to the rules.

Medicines are essential for animal welfare and healthy, reasonably priced food. Use of licensed medicines provides assurances of quality, performance and safety to farmers and consumers.