Reuters reports that "Over-the-counter antibiotics have been routinely used for decades to promote livestock growth and feed efficiency." However, antibiotics "including penicillin and tetracyclines should be used only under the supervision of veterinarians to prevent or treat illness in livestock."
According to the FDA news release, the draft guidance "summarizes a number of published reports on antimicrobial resistance and states that overall weight of evidence available to date supports the conclusion that using medically important antimicrobial drugs for production or growth enhancing purposes in food-producing animals is not in the interest of protecting and promoting the public health." The FDA does acknowledge "the efforts to date by various veterinary and animal producer organizations to institute guidelines for the judicious use of antimicrobial drugs, but the agency believes additional steps are needed."
The draft "recommends phasing in measures that would limit medically important antimicrobial drugs to uses in food-producing animals that are considered necessary for assuring animal health and that include veterinary oversight or consultation. These steps would help reduce overall use of medically important antimicrobial drugs, thereby reducing the pressure that generates antimicrobial resistance."
FDA stated that it expects to issue more specific guidelines soon. The FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drugs stated that the "guidelines are just a first step and the agency will be watching industry response and also patterns of antibiotic resistance," as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
To read the FDA news release, click here.
For the Federal Register Notice, click here.
For the Draft Guidance, click here.
To read the Reuters story, click here.
To read the Chicago Tribune story, click here.
Posted: 06/30/2010
