The role of the macrolide tulathromycin in veterinary medicine

Tulathromycin is the first and only member of the triamilide sub-class of macrolides that is used therapeutically and has been registered in more than 30 countries across America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. The discovery of tulathromycin and its registration in multiple countries has been important for the food animal industry as it has been used successfully to treat economically important conditions such as bovine and porcine respiratory disease, infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis and interdigital necrobacillosis. Since it was first registered about 8 years ago, considerable information has been generated to help define tulathromycin’s role in veterinary medicine as well as setting the basis for new treatment strategies and for the discovery of new macrolides with further applications in veterinary and human medicine. This article reviews this information and examines more recent findings particularly the effects of tulathromycin on the immune response, its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, its pattern of susceptibility and the identification of genes that may be associated with resistance to the drug.