FDA restricting use of some antimicrobial drugs in animals to increase effectiveness in human treatments
January 6th, 2012 joshua
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced it would restrict the use of certain cephalosporin antimicrobial drugs in farm animals to increase their effectiveness in human treatments.
The agency said in a release this week that restricting the use of these drugs in animals would reduce the human resistance to the drugs if they’re used in the fight against some bacterial infections. The restrictions proposed by the FDA would take effect on April 5 and includes limits on their use in cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys.
“We believe this is an imperative step in preserving the effectiveness of this class of important antimicrobials that takes into account the need to protect the health of both humans and animals,” Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods, said in the release.
Cephalosporin drugs are used in the treatment of pneumonia and some tissue and skin infections. It is sometimes used in the treatment of pelvic inflammatory diseases, foot infections related to diabetes and urinary tract infections.
By giving animals cephalosporin drugs to reduce the risk of infections among livestock on a regular basis, the more people eat the food produced by these animals they slowly build a tolerance to the drugs, reducing their effectiveness in human treatments. If a cephalosporin drug proves to be ineffective in the treatment of an infection, doctors are forced to use drugs which are less effective and carry greater risks of side effects.
The FDA also plans to outlaw the use of cephalosporin drugs in animals for “extralabel” or off-label treatments, like at higher than recommended doses or in the prevention of diseases.
