Posted May 15, 2014
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a
report on global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) concluding that AMR threatens
the effective treatment and prevention of an increasing range in
infections. The report is available here.
The report, “produced in collaboration with Member
States and other partners, provides for the first time, as accurate a picture
as is presently possible of the magnitude of AMR and the current state of
surveillance globally.”
The report concludes that resistance to common bacteria
“has reached alarming levels in many parts of the world and that in some
settings, few, if any, of the available treatments option remain effective for
common infections.” The report also
finds that the monitoring of antibacterial resistance is lacking and there are
many gaps in information.
In the United States, efforts from the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), state governments, and industry are working to halt
antibiotic resistance by phasing out the use of antibiotics for growth
promotion in animals, according to an article by the Des Moines Register
available here.
After a CDC
report, the FDA asked 26 companies to “stop labeling pharmaceuticals used
to treat infections in humans as acceptable for growth production in
animals.” The companies “had the option
of withdrawing them from animal use entirely or changing the labeling so they
can only be administered with a prescription from a veterinarian.” Most of the companies have agreed to the
changes.
“It’s the right decision for the industry,” Jeff
Simmons, president with Elanco, said in an interview. “We would not want the alternative, which is,
“Let’s go down the more extreme road and ban (them),’ and then farmers all over
the United States wouldn’t have an option” to treat their animals when they get
sick.
The California
Senate recently passed a bill to restrict the use of antibiotics in farm
animals for growth enhancement. Food
companies like Chick-fil-A are also promising to serve antibiotic free meat
products.
For more information on antibiotic use in agriculture,
an article from the Congressional Research Service is available here.
