Zoetis reintroduces anticoccidial for US poultry market

“The US poultry industry loses an estimated $600 million a year to coccidiosis, so the return of Zoamix could not be coming at a better time,” said Don Waldrip, DVM, DACPV, a senior technical services veterinarian with Zoetis.

He noted that US poultry producers have not seen a new in-feed anticoccidial in 15 years, and concerns remain about existing products becoming less effective over time. “Having one more anticoccidial to use in a rotation program — especially one like Zoamix, with it’s chemical structure — could help preserve the efficacy of other coccidiosis medications,” Waldrip said.

Zoamix is a Type A Medicated Article that can be used safely year-round with no withdrawal. Because it is a synthetic compound, Zoamix is compatible with antibiotic-free or conventional production systems. As with all in-feed anticoccidials, Zoetis recommends resting the medication periodically to maintain good efficacy.

According to Waldrip, Zoamix is special in that it’s a synthetic compound but works similarly to an ionophore by allowing some cycling of Eimeria, the parasite that causes coccidiosis. “That cycling, commonly called leakage by poultry producers and veterinarians, allows the development of natural immunity against the disease,” the veterinarian explained.

Waldrip said the arrival of Zoamix would further strengthen Rotecc Coccidiosis Management, a science-based initiative Zoetis launched earlier this year to help poultry producers develop more strategic, cost-effective and sustainable programs for battling the costly parasitic disease.

More uses

In addition to preventing and controlling coccidiosis in broilers and turkeys, Zoamix can be used for the development of active immunity against coccidiosis in replacement chickens.  Zoamix is also approved for use in combination with BMD (bacitracin methylene disalicylate), a feed medication used to manage necrotic enteritis in chickens and transmissible enteritis in turkeys.

Formerly produced by Alpharma, Zoamix was used by the US broiler and turkey industries for more than four decades before leaving the market in 2005 due to shortage of a key ingredient.  Zoetis later acquired the product, saw the poultry industry’s need for Zoamix, and worked with suppliers to resolve supply issues and relaunch the product.

Source: Zoetis