the invention consists of forming a stable solution of ketoprofen in water for use in mass medicating animals and the addition of a flavoring and sweetening agent to increase palatability . first , any edible weak base such as sodium bicarbonate may be added to ketoprofen in a ratio of 10 to 1 in order to completely and rapidly solubilize the ketoprofen in cold water and produce a palatable , stable , safe solution for mass medication . a dose of 1 to 2 mg / kg provides effective relief of viral induced inflammatory processes and fevers . this allows livestock to continue eating and drinking normally and reduces the incidence of secondary diseases and the need to treat with antibiotics . second , flavoring or sweetening agents may be added to increase palatability of the end solution . any of the following agents may be used : cyclohexyl - sulfamic acid , saccharin ( o - benzosulfimide ), and aspartame ( i . e ., l - aspartyl - l - phenylalanine methyl ester ) sold as nutrasweet ® artificial sweetener , and the like , in small amounts that are sufficient to enhance the palatability . if the animals would not be adversely affected by inclusion of sugar in the formation , then sugar can be used to sweeten the solution . in actual practice , the sweetener and the flavoring are added in amounts that overcome the taste of ketoprofen . the following examples serve to illustrate the many applications of the present invention and should not be considered as limiting by any means . a 2 1000 head finishing barn site experienced an outbreak of swine influenza . both barns , which housed 150 pound finishing hogs , experienced the outbreak simultaneously . we used one barn as the treatment group and one as the control group . the treatment group was given 1 mg / pound of ketoprofen for 3 days orally through the drinking water and the control group was given a placebo of flavored sodium bicarbonate in the water . we observed the pigs until they were marketed at 260 pounds 8 to 10 weeks after the outbreak . the results of the study included an average time to market for the treatment group of 9 days less than the control group . the morbidity at the time of the outbreak was 10 percent in the treatment group and 90 percent in the control group . the mortality was 5 . 2 percent in the control group and 2 . 1 percent in the treatment group . the controls required follow - up treatment with antibiotics two weeks after the outbreak and the treatment group did not require any mass medication with antibiotics . a 500 head cattle feedlot experienced an outbreak of ibr ( infectious bovine rhinotracheitis ) a very contagious viral respiratory disease in cattle . at the time of the outbreak we divided the group in half and treated ½ with 1 mg / pound of ketoprofen orally and ½ were used as controls . the cattle were treated that same in all other respects including intranasal vaccination and antibiotic treatment as needed . the animals were followed for 4 weeks post treatment and were scored based on clinical signs , morbidity , mortality , weight gain and rate of recovery . the results were as follows : weight clinical rectal rate of group mortality morbidity gain *** score * temp . **** recovery ** treatment 0 % 60 % 75 . 8 # 1 . 5 102 . 3 3 days controls 2 % 92 % 31 . 5 # 3 . 5 104 . 8 11 days the results show a substantial decrease in mortality and morbidity . the animals returned to eating within 24 hours of beginning the treatment in the treatment group and the controls were off feed from 3 to 14 days . this is why the weight gains were so different . an equine client with a horse with chronic laminitis was using phenylbutazone to try to control the inflammation and pain associated with the disease . this product had to be given to the horse daily by the owner . we tried giving ketoprofen in the water at 1 mg per pound for 2 weeks to measure acceptance and intake . the results were very good . the horse readily drank the water with the medication and was less painful then when on the previous treatment . a swine client with a 10 , 000 head nursery was experiencing severe mortality due to a prrs ( porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome ) virus outbreak . they had used antibiotics with only partial success and were seeing mortalities as high as 30 percent in the group . we divided the barn into 2 groups and began treatment at the first signs of disease with the treatment group getting ketoprofen orally for 7 days along with the same treatments as the controls for other therapy . the results were substantially reduced mortality 7 % treatment group versus 21 % in the controls . we also saw less chronic pigs in the treatment group 3 % versus 15 % in the controls .
a readily water - soluble ingestible form of ketoprofen is provided by the reaction of ketoprofen and any edible weak base to yeild a palatable , stable , safe pharamaceutical solution for mass medication of animals . any edible weak base such as sodium bicarbonate may be used with ketoprofen in a ratio of 10 to 1 by weight .