Scours account for significant losses to the US swine industry every year. A common treatment for scours is the administration
of broad-spectrum antibiotics, a practice
with increasing unpopularity in the eyes of
consumers. Currently, no treatment is available to reduce or eliminate the fluid losses associated with scours that is both inexpensive and easy to use. In the present study, a variety of prospective drugs were used to determine if a single compound might inhibit the effects of bacterial toxins in a laboratory setting. The results indicate that a new class of drugs, which we call DASUs, likely will prove useful for the treatment of watery diarrhea. Additional studies are underway to validate this conclusion.
