Antibiotic Use in Animals Under Fire--Every day, Americans use some 51 tons of antibotics

 

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

 

Every day, Americans use some 51 tons of antibiotics.
But only about a fifth of that is to treat human illness. Most of the rest is given to livestock -- and not because the animals are sick. Instead -- despite increasing antibiotic resistance among pathogens -- the drugs are used for what the FDA calls "production purposes": to help animals gain weight more rapidly or to improve feed efficiency.
Those uses, the agency said in a guidance issued in December, are no longer "judicious" and should be stopped.
Last year, the FDA asked farmers voluntarily to agree only to use antibiotics to promote animal health and only then if the use is approved by a veterinarian.
In the December guidance, the agency asked drug-makers to take production uses off antibiotic labels within 3 years
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