APHA urges change in animal antibiotic use.

APHA is calling on the Obama administration to move forward with its stated support for a new "public health approach to antimicrobial use in animals."

Drawing on evidence-based concerns that agricultural antibiotic use is contributing to antibiotic resistance in humans, APHA and fellow public health advocates urged Melody Barnes, the assistant to the president for domestic policy, to ensure the administration maintains its "scientifically sound positions" on animal antibiotic use. Initiated by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the July letter expressed support for the Food and Drug Administration's work to phase out the use of antibiotics for growth promotion and feed efficiency, as well as for work that could lead to the "end of over-the-counter sales of tons of antimicrobial drugs annually" that are now used in agricultural settings without a veterinarian's supervision.

The letter noted that the World Health Organization has called for all nations to address antibiotic use in animals, and that the Institute of Medicine in 2003 called for a ban on using antibiotics for growth promotion in animals.

"We recognize that phasing out of antimicrobials for non-judicious uses in animals will require changes in the agricultural industry," the letter stated. "But protection of the public's health must come first, and the phaseout can be conducted in a way that minimizes costs to the agriculture industry."