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News from Keep Antibiotics Working – June 2009 Welcome to latest edition of KAW's newsletter! If you recently contacted your Senator and Representative about the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), KAW thanks you for making your voice heard! If you have not yet had a chance to support this important public health bill, we ask you to write your representatives today. Let them know that medically important antibiotics should not be used as feed and water additives for healthy animals. Take Action! Congress can safeguard antibiotics by passing the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA). This legislation, if passed, will require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to cancel approvals for the routine use of human antibiotics as a feed additive if the uses are found to be unsafe from a resistance point of view. We urge you to contact your representatives about this issue. If you have done so any time before March 2009, we need you to take action again. The bill has been re-introduced and therefore needs your renewed support. Please Take Action! today and urge your friends and family to do the same. They can join KAW's action network here. The greater the public demand for action on this issue, the stronger our chances are for passing PAMTA in 2009! European Experience: What's the latest on MRSA? The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) recently have published a joint Scientific Report on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in livestock, pets, and foods. KAW invites you to learn more about the European findings on MRSA and livestock by reading the summary of findings or the full report. They state that "Prudent use of antimicrobials in animals should remain a key measure and the [Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use] CVMP recommended monitoring of animal consumption of antimicrobials to identify any sources of unnecessary use." Latest News Nicholas Kristof writes again on the state of American agriculture in the New York Times. Along with other key points, he reiterates that "the massive routine feeding of antibiotics to farm animals is a disgrace that reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics in treating sick humans." The San Franscisco Chronicle recently covered the debate on antimicrobials in animal agriculture. Read the article.
If you want to learn more about the issue of antibiotic resistance, please visit our website. There you can learn about all we are doing to curb the routine use of medically important antibiotics in animal agriculture. Thanks again for your continued support and interest! Cheers, Lisa Isenhart KAW Coalition Coordinator |
