Federal Court orders FDA action on Farmers' Antibiotic Use

[sharon sanders]

Court Orders FDA Action on Farmers' Antibiotics Use
Updated March 23, 2012

BY JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN

A federal judge ordered the Food and Drug Administration to restart a process that could limit the use of two types of antibiotics in cattle, pigs and poultry amid concerns such use leads to antibiotic-resistant infections in humans

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577299623388684512.html

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Federal Court orders FDA action on Farmers' Antibiotic Use

Cephalosporin Order of Prohibition Goes Into Effect
April 6, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that the order of prohibition of cephalosporins originally published on January 6, 2012 is now effective.

The order prohibits certain uses of the cephalosporin (excluding cephapirin) class of antimicrobial drugs in cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys.

FDA is taking this action to preserve the effectiveness of cephalosporin drugs for treating disease in humans. Prohibiting these uses is intended to reduce the risk of cephalosporin resistance in certain bacterial pathogens.

In its order, FDA is prohibiting what are called ?extralabel? or unapproved uses of cephalosporins in cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys, the so-called major species of food-producing animals. Specifically, the prohibited uses include:

using cephalosporin drugs at unapproved dose levels, frequencies, durations, or routes of administration;
using cephalosporin drugs in cattle, swine, chickens or turkeys that are not approved for use in that species (e.g., cephalosporin drugs intended for humans or companion animals);
using cephalosporin drugs for disease prevention.
The order had a comment period of 60 days that began on January 6, 2012 and closed on March 6, 2012. The FDA carefully reviewed all submitted comments and determined that the order of prohibition, as published on Jan 6, 2012, should go into effect on April 5, 2012 without further revision or delay.

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm299054.htm?