The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has made the world a safer place by banning the use of the animal antibiotic Baytril in the poultry that feeds the nation. The historic reversal of its earlier decision to approve the drug in 1996 came after years of pressure from scientists and citizens working with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the coalition group Keep Antibiotics Working. Baytril was banned from animal pharmacy just last month. Scientists have long been “worried about the increase in antibiotic-resistant infections tracked in people,” says Kevin Knoblock, president of UCS. But this is the first time the government has seen fit to take an agricultural antibiotic off the market based on the rising incidence of food-borne illnesses becoming resistant to treatment by a human antibiotic. In this case, doctors have witnessed a dramatic decline in the effectiveness of Cipro, commonly used to treat serious food poisoning and other bacterial infections in people. No wonder people are crowing. Smart animal pharmacy is one small step for chickens but one giant leap for mankind.

Created by amandareid Last modified 2005-12-07 08:51 AM