The effect of florfenicol against Escherichia coli (E. coli) was investigated in vivo to confirm results of an in vitro study of Bruer et al. (2019), which has shown positive effects of various antibacterial agents in combination with the antihistamine mepyramine (MEP). Therefore, pigs were treated in three different settings: An untreated control group, 10 mg/kg florfenicol (FFC) and 10 mg/kg FFC in combination with 20 mg/kg MEP. E. coli were isolated from faecal samples and analyzed in growth quantity and resistance to FFC. The FFC medication induced an increased number of resistant E. coli strains isolated from faecal samples. The number of colonies detected after cultivation of animal samples treated with 10 mg/kg FFC was higher than the number of colonies after treatment with 10 mg/kg FFC in combination with of FFC and MEP. Furthermore, the effect of both compounds was examined on bacterial susceptibility of Pasteurella multocida in vitro, where the combination of FFC with MEP resulted in a diminished minimum inhibitory concentration. We confirmed the development of bacterial resistance in the intestine as non-target tissue caused by the use of the antibacterial agent florfenicol. Moreover, the combination of FFC with an antihistamine like MEP offers a possibility to enhance the efficacy of an antibacterial treatment and modifies the effect on gut microbiota.
Keywords: Escherichia coli; antibacterial; antihistamine; pig.