Tulathromycin: veterinary dose and monograph

At a glance

Drug class

Antibiotic

Also known as

Draxxin

Species with doses

Cattle, Horses, Goats and Pigs

General dose range

2.5 mg/kg SC single dose — check the species tables for the indication

Routes

SC, IM

Last reviewed

1 October 2026

Indications

• Bovine respiratory disease (Mannheimia, Pasteurella, Histophilus, Mycoplasma bovis)
• Bovine foot rot (Fusobacterium necrophorum)
• Bovine pinkeye (Moraxella bovis)
• Swine respiratory disease (App, Pasteurella, BPB)
• Caprine / ovine respiratory disease (extra-label)

Tulathromycin dose by species

Doses are per administration unless stated. mg/kg doses scale with body weight; per-animal, per-quarter and infusion-rate doses are shown as the reference writes them.

Cattle

• BRD / foot rot / pinkeye — single shot SC: Plumb’s p.1152 and Papich 5e (Draxxin label): 2.5 mg/kg SC once in the neck (1.1 mL/100 lb of 100 mg/mL); no more than 10 mL per site. US label slaughter withdrawal 18 days; not for female dairy cattle 20 months or older.

Horses

• Foals — Rhodococcus equi (mild cases): Papich 5e: foals 2.5 mg/kg IM once per week. Plumb’s p.1152 (Divers 2009): anecdotally 2.5 mg/kg IM every 5–7 days in milder clinical cases.

Goats

• Pneumonia (M. haemolytica, P. multocida, Mycoplasma): Plumb’s 10e p.1284 (extra-label): 2.5 mg/kg SC; repeat in 7 days if necessary. Based on pharmacokinetic studies in meat and dairy goats. After a single dose a 34-day meat withdrawal and a 45-day (1080 h) milk withdrawal are recommended. Papich 5e gives no goat dose.

Sheep

• No reference dose for this species: Neither Papich 5e nor Plumb’s 10e (pp.1282–1284 dose cattle, swine, goats and deer only) gives a tulathromycin dose for sheep; the previous row copied the cattle dose. Where a sheep product label exists locally, follow that label and its withdrawal.

Pigs

• Swine respiratory disease — single shot IM: Plumb’s p.1152 and Papich 5e (Draxxin label): 2.5 mg/kg IM once in the neck (0.25 mL/22 lb); no more than 2.5 mL per site. US label slaughter withdrawal 5 days.

Buffalo

No buffalo-specific doses are on file, so buffalo are dosed as cattle.

• BRD / foot rot / pinkeye — single shot SC: Plumb’s p.1152 and Papich 5e (Draxxin label): 2.5 mg/kg SC once in the neck (1.1 mL/100 lb of 100 mg/mL); no more than 10 mL per site. US label slaughter withdrawal 18 days; not for female dairy cattle 20 months or older.

Contraindications

Lactating dairy cattle (USA). Veal calves. Female dairy cattle ≥20 mo. Hypersensitivity to macrolides. Use in horses is CONTRAINDICATED — fatal colitis. Withdrawal must be respected.

Species-specific warnings

Cattle: Single-shot — 2.5 mg/kg SC neck. 18 d slaughter. NOT for lactating dairy.

Pigs: Single-shot 2.5 mg/kg IM neck. 5 d slaughter withdrawal. Max 2.5 mL / site.

Horses: CONTRAINDICATED — fatal colitis like erythromycin. Never use.

Adverse effects

• Transient injection-site pain / swelling (esp. neck-SC route)
• Hyper-salivation, head-pressing (rare, transient)
• Hypersensitivity (rare)

Drug interactions

• Other macrolides: similar binding site — antagonism possible
• Drugs interacting with CYP3A: tulathromycin minimal CYP interaction unlike erythromycin
• Lincosamides (lincomycin, clindamycin): similar mechanism — additive without benefit

Pregnancy and lactation

Safe at recommended dose in cattle, sheep, goats. Strictly NOT for lactating dairy.

Monitoring

• Withdrawal STRICT: 18 d slaughter cattle / 5 d swine
• Injection-site reaction
• Clinical response within 48 h (single-shot "hits and holds")

Toxicity and overdose

Wide safety margin. Severe injection-site swelling possible in cattle. Horses: fatal colitis — never use.

Clinical pearls

• Single-shot BRD therapy in feedlot — replaces 5-day florfenicol or tilmicosin schedule. Drop-off compliance solved
• Foot rot in cattle: 2.5 mg/kg SC single often clears acute interdigital necrobacillosis within 3 days
• Swine BPB / App: 2.5 mg/kg IM single in pen-level sick pigs is the standard parenteral macrolide
• NEVER use in horses — fatal colitis (similar mechanism to erythromycin colitis)
• Massive injection-site swelling at full 10 mL site — distribute over 2 sites in heavy calves

Mechanism of action

Semi-synthetic triamilide (azalide subclass of macrolides). Binds 50S ribosome at the same site as erythromycin → inhibits bacterial protein synthesis. Unique tissue accumulation in alveolar macrophages and bronchial epithelial lining fluid — lung concentrations remain therapeutic for 8–10 days after single dose. Time-dependent killing with concentration-dependent post-antibiotic effect.

Formulations and products

• Draxxin 100 mg/mL injection (single-shot SC for cattle, IM for swine)
• Draxxin (Zoetis (formerly Pfizer)) — 100 mg/mL, Single-shot SC (cattle) / IM (swine)

Storage

15–25 °C protected from light. Multidose vial: discard 28 d after broaching.

Before you use this dose

Reference doses for veterinary professionals. Confirm the dose against the product label, the patient’s condition, current guidance and local regulations before use; the attending veterinarian remains responsible for every clinical decision.

Other antibiotics

• Tilmicosin
• Tinidazole
• Tobramycin
• Trimethoprim / Sulfadiazine (TMP-Sulfa)
• Tylvalosin
• Vancomycin

Frequently asked questions