Before Wednesday, antibiotics were routinely mixed in with animal feed as preventative measures to put weight on livestock, pigs and chickens, as well as insure that they would stay healthy in over crowded barns. Public health and medial officials have long been worried that the increased use of medications has helped to the growth and surge of antibiotic resistant germs, some of which can be passed on to humans. Over the past few years there has been an increased number of more resistant and deadlyforms of malaria, staph and several other infections which once were easily treatable. (This is one of the reasons why several national and international campaigns were started to help educate physicians on the harm of over perscribing antibiotics).
The FDA guidelines recommend that antibiotics be used only when necessary to keep animals healthy and the veterinarian should also prescribe the specific medication. The FDA also is working with with drug companies to adjust the labels of antibiotics; labels will no longer advertise to increased weight gain and accelerated growth. No formal ban was put into place because each drug would have to undergo its own hearing which would take years to complete. Lawmakers are hoping that the voluntary requirements will bring about a greater change and cost taxpayers less money.
Apparently in 1977 a law was passed that banned the non-medical use of two popular antibiotics, penicillin and tetracycline in farm animals. Unfortunately, the law was never really enforced because there was push back from Congress and drug/farmer lobby groups. Last month a federal court judge ordered the FDA to uphold the law.
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