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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced
plans to ban the use of two antibiotics used in chickens and turkeys,
saying the practice increases the danger that humans
will become infected with antibiotic-resistant germs.
Although these particular drugs are only approved
for use in livestock, other drugs from the same class, known as fluoroquinolones,
are commonly prescribed in humans to treat serious gastrointestinal illness.
Therein lies the heart of the problem. According to
the Washington Post:
These people eat animals that are carrying
resistant campylobacter bacteria because the animals were treated with
fluoroquinolones. If the bacteria make people sick and they seek treatment,
fluoroquinolones will be far less effective than normal. This could be
life-threatening to the elderly, to children and to people with depressed
immune systems.
The action, if implemented would mark several firsts:
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), have been advocating such
a ban for years, but agriculture and
pharmaceutical interests have blocked it, according to a report
in the Washington Post.
The paper also notes that since the drugs were approved
for use in livestock in the mid-1990's, the incidence of antibiotic resistance
to fluoroquinolones in people has increased dramatically.
The FDA now estimates that the health
of at least 5,000 Americans is affected each year by the use of these
drugs in animals.
Many public health officials are predicting that fluoroquinolone
resistant bacteria is just the tip of an iceberg.
Although most people don't realize the extent of the
widespread use of antibiotics in livestock, it is estimated that 40 percent
of the nation's antibiotic use is in livestock.
The antibiotics are added to the flocks drinking water
when needed to treat respiratory problems in chickens and turkeys.
However, the animal pharmaceutical
industry is not happy about the FDA's plans and has been lobbying Congress
against the antibiotic ban. As a result, several members of
Congress have come out against the planned action.
"The FDA's decision regarding fluoroquinolone
use will set a precedent for all future activity regarding antibiotic
resistance and will have a significant impact on the livelihood of hard-working
poultry growers and on food safety," wrote Rep. Calvin M. Dooley
(D-Calif.) to Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "Given
these implications, FDA must make the process more transparent and must
render a decision based on fact rather than fear."
"There was tremendous opposition to the use of
fluoroquinolones when FDA first approved them for treating flocks of poultry,
and I suppose you can say the chickens have now come home to roost,"
said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center
for Science in the Public Interest. "This action will reduce
the spread of bacteria that are not sensitive to a very powerful antibiotic,
and that is good for public health."
The
Washinton Post,
October 26, 2000
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