Opinion: Curb antibiotic use in livestock

The editors of the New England Journal of Medicine have joined the American Medical Association in calling for a ban on the use of some antibiotics in farm animals. Are livestock growers and and federal regulators listening? The concern is that the antibiotics widely used in food animals can cause bacteria to become immune to the drugs' effect. Then, if these resistant germs remain on the meat after slaughter, they can cause illnesses that doctors will be powerless to treat.

The measures infectious disease experts recommend are hardly drastic: Treat only sick animals rather than the entire herd or flock. Do not use antibiotics to fatten healthy animals. And place some drugs commonly used against human diseases off limits for animals altogether.

The New England Journal's data only adds to previous studies that have warned against such practices for 30 years. Three studies featured in the recent issue suggest a link between treatment-resistant bacteria found in meat and the use of antibiotics in animals. In one study, bacteria resistant to the drugs given to food animals showed up in the digestive tracts of some human consumers. While the incidence is low now, the fact that resistant bacteria can jump the food chain at all should concern everyone.

Industry groups have resorted to everything from attacking the feasibility of new rules to assailing the integrity of the data. But can we really afford to let trade groups keep consumers in a state of denial? Right now, the nation is highly sensitized to the danger from germs and our medical dependency on antibiotics such as Cipro. Public health officials are taking advantage of this opportunity to educate the public about the risks of overuse of antibiotics in animal food.

The Food and Drug Administration is conducting its own studies and began taking steps to limit the use of one drug in chickens last year. Now regulators should seize upon the chance to build on those initial rules. The times demand that we err on the side of caution to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics.

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