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RELATED REPORTS

Danish government's latest report on antibiotics and farm animals (link will open PDF file)
This report examines how the Danish government's crackdown on antibiotics is affecting the use of drugs on the farms, as well as bacterial resistance to leading antibiotics. The report shows that their policies are generally working the way they had hoped—but not 100 percent. Farmers have cut their total use of antibiotics in animals by almost two-thirds in recent years, although they're using bigger amounts of specific drugs to treat sick animals. The report also shows that most major kinds of bacteria are less resistant to leading antibiotics than they were a few years ago, although the new policies haven't eliminated the problem: for reasons that scientists can't explain, a few kinds of bacteria are actually more resistant to certain antibiotics now than they used to be. Government researchers say they expect it will take years to understand the full effects of using antibiotics—and restricting them.

The American drug industry's official report denouncing the FDA (link will open PDF file)
This report denounces the FDA's on-going move to ban a popular antibiotic on chicken farms. The FDA has proposed banning the chicken version of Ciprofloxacin (fluoroquinolones) on the grounds that the most common form of "food poisoning," Campylobacter, is becoming resistant to the drug because it's used on farms across the country. The American Health Institute, which filed this report, represents the major drug companies that make drugs for agriculture.

WEB LINKS

Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Antimicrobial Resistance
Drug resistance, more technically known as antimicrobial resistance, is a growing concern among health professionals and others around the world. This site is designed to provide both general and technical information about antimicrobial resistance.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Foodborne Illnesses
Find general information about foodborne bacteria.

The Union of Concerned Scientists
An activist group of scientists that is campaigning against antibiotics on farms.

The Animal Health Institute
A coalition of major drug companies, whose Web site has a wealth of information about its views on antibiotics.

Resistant Mechanisms and Trends in Human Isolates
A review of the latest scientific findings on how and why campylobacter bacteria are becoming resistant to Cipro.

Food and Drug Administration Docket
The FDA lays out its case against using a form of Cipro (fluoroquinolones) in chickens.

NPR Coverage
NPR's How Safe is the Food Supply? contains Daniel Zwerdling's piece Antibiotics on the Farm, along with a segment on Fighting Food-Based Allergies, a segment on Home Cooking Dangers, and a sidebar on the Use and Abuse of Antibiotic Drugs.


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