Trends in respiratory tract infection treatments in Norwegian cattle: a retrospective register-based study.

Narrow-spectrum penicillin-based therapy with NSAID co-administration remains effective for routine bovine RTI management.

This retrospective register-based study analyzed trends in respiratory tract infection (RTI) treatments in Norwegian cattle from 2015 to 2022, drawing on data from over 67,000 treated animals across two national cattle databases. The proportion of herds experiencing at least one RTI treatment annually nearly doubled over the study period, rising from 24% to 44%. At the individual calf level, the probability of receiving at least one RTI treatment by 180 days of age increased from 1.8% to 2.4%, with a median age at first treatment of 52 days. RTI treatments were predominantly small in scale, with 96% of cases involving three or fewer calves and most animals receiving only a single treatment course. Antimicrobials were administered in 96.5% of treatments, with penicillins (β-lactamase sensitive) being the most commonly used class (54.5%), followed by amphenicols (15.2%) and tetracyclines (7.9%). Short-acting formulations accounted for 89.2% of antimicrobial use. Antimicrobial class changes within 10 days of initial treatment occurred in only 13% of calves, typically after four days. NSAIDs were co-administered with antimicrobials in 85% of treatments, reflecting a multimodal approach to RTI management. The overall findings suggest that narrow-spectrum, first-line penicillin therapy was generally effective, with repeated treatments and antimicrobial class changes being uncommon. These data support the continued use of judicious antimicrobial practices in Norwegian cattle RTI management, consistent with antimicrobial stewardship principles.

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