Avoparcin is a

glycopeptide antibiotic Glycopeptide antibiotics are a class of drugs of microbial origin that are composed of glycosylated cyclic or polycyclic nonribosomal peptides. Significant glycopeptide antibiotics include the anti-infective antibiotics vancomycin, teicoplani ...

effective against

Gram-positive bacteria In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. The Gram stain ...

. It has been used in agriculture as an additive to livestock feed to promote growth in chickens, pigs, and cattle. It is also used as an aid in the prevention of necrotic enteritis in poultry. Avoparcin is a mixture of two closely related chemical compounds, known as α-avoparcin and β-avoparcin, which differ by the presence of an additional chlorine atom in β-avoparcin. Avoparcin also shares a chemical similarity with

vancomycin Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic medication used to treat certain bacterial infections. It is administered intravenously ( injection into a vein) to treat complicated skin infections, bloodstream infections, endocarditis, bone an ...

. Because of this similarity, concern exists that widespread use of avoparcin in animals may lead to an increased prevalence of vancomycin-resistant strains of bacteria. Avoparcin was once widely used in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, but it is currently not permitted in either. ''

Streptomyces candidus ''Streptomyces candidus'' is a bacterium species from the genus of '' Streptomyces'' which has been isolated from soil in Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of co ...

'' was found to produce avoparcin.

Legal status

Avoparcin is prohibited in the Euopean Union, Australia, and the United States. It was first banned in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in 1995 as a feed additive, for its contributions to vancomycin-resistant ''Enterococcus'' (VRE), and later banned in several other European countries. It was never approved for use in the United States.

References

{{Other antibacterials Glycopeptide antibiotics