"Antibiotics are drugs capable of killing bacteria or disrupting their reproduction without harming their host, and have been used for more than 70 years to treat people with infections and for more than 50 years in veterinary medicine. They have undoubtedly saved millions of lives, but the establishment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is jeopardizing their effectiveness. Misuse, overuse and injudicious use of this important class of drugs are being debated by academics, veterinarians, regulators and consumers alike. What all parties can agree upon is that antibiotic resistance is a complicated issue that needs urgent attention and continuing dialogue, as the policies of food production begin to shift to protect these essential drugs from losing their effectiveness.
The need to promote the judicious use of antibiotics in human medicine has long been underway. Many patients are now aware or are being advised by their physicians that antibiotics will not treat viruses, and much public information has been made readily available to thwart the overprescribing of antibiotics. Similar discussions are happening in the veterinary community, which is heralding more veterinary oversight in the treatment of food animals.
Antibiotic resistance emerges through evolutionary pressure. Genetic mutations are expected as bacteria constantly evolve to inhabit their surroundingenvironments. Reservoirs for many foodborne bacteria are often the gastrointestinal systems of animals. How and what we treat animals with, be it for growth promotion, disease treatment, disease prevention or disease control, can help tip the selection pressures and render chosen antibiotics useless in animal and, ultimately, human medicine.
The emergence of antibiotic-resistant foodborne pathogens is inherently linked to how antibiotics have been used in food animal production. Every time an antibiotic is used, its efficacy diminishes. Once bacteria develop resistance to a given antibiotic, they often lack susceptibility to other antibiotics that share a similar mode of action or coexist on the same bacterial plasmid. Creating policies, both in human medicine and animal husbandry, which will minimize the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is essential."
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today introduced the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act, a bipartisan bill that would eliminate certain antibiotic-related practices that contribute to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria and endanger human health. The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
More infoThis bibliography lists the latest published scientific and economic literature concerning the contribution of routine antibiotic use in food animals to the growing public health crisis of human antibiotic resistance. Research on how antibiotic use in food animal production contributes to the growing health crisis of antibiotic resistance dates back more than 30 years.
More infoPew Charitable Trusts today applauded Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Susan Collins (R-ME), for introducing the Antimicrobial Data Collection Act, which would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, to report more information on the annual sales of antibiotics used among industrial farm animals. The bipartisan bill would also give the agency a deadline to finalize policies proposed last year to eliminate the use of antibiotics for growth promotion purposes in meat production.
More info"As a nation, we need to exercise greater care with our use of antibiotics, in both humans and animals, so that these medications remain effective in treating serious bacterial infections."
More infoSuperChefs Against Superbugs, an initiative of the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, is a movement of chefs nationwide who have expressed their support of ending the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in food animal production. As a result, the SuperChefs are urging the Food and Drug Administration to strengthen its antibiotic policies.
More infoSuperChefs Against Superbugs, an initiative of the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, is a movement of chefs who want to stop the overuse of antibiotics in food animal production. On April 23, the following seven chefs visited Capitol Hill to explain why they serve meat and poultry raised without antibiotics.
More infoIt used to be easy to treat healthy children with common bacterial infections; a regimen of antibiotic pills could usually wipe out the disease. Today, patients might need to go home on intravenous antibiotics because oral therapies will no longer work. Antibiotic resistance is to blame.
More infoA past bout of salmonella led Maine resident Danielle Wadsworth to travel to Washington, D.C. this week to argue for stronger regulations to curtail the use of antibiotics in livestock farming. She took part Wednesday in "Supermoms Against Superbugs," an initiative of the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming.
More infoDr. Cecilia Di Pentima is in Washington, D.C., for “Supermoms against Superbugs” to push for laws to curtail the use of antibiotics in livestock farming — one of many fronts in the battle to preserve the effectiveness of the medicines. Family physicians in the South, including Tennessee, have also been identified as inadvertent purveyors of drug-resistant bacteria by prescribing too many antibiotics.
More infoEach year, tens of thousands of Americans die and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized because of bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse on industrial farms is a big part of the problem. The largest U.S. meat and poultry producers feed antibiotics to healthy animals over much of their lives to make them grow faster and to compensate for the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in which they are bred and slaughtered.
More infoOn behalf of the undersigned organizations representing medical, public health, scientific, agricultural, environmental, animal protection, and other organizations, we urge you to include H.R. 820, the Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act, as part of the final Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA). This legislation provides a reasonable, common-sense approach to better understanding antibiotic use in agriculture.
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