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Writing on the wall for animal health preventive antibiotic usage
Amid widespread concern about overuse of antibiotics, the Committee on Rules of the US House of Representatives has held a hearing on the Bill proposing severe restrictions on antibiotic use on farms.
According to a report in Animal Pharm, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, 2009 (PAMTA) proposes the withdrawal of seven classes of antibiotics - penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamides, streptogramins, aminoglycosides and sulphonamides - from routine use in livestock farms, unless the animals show signs of illness.
In his testimony to the hearing, Dr Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of the FDA, said that the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics, as growth promoters and for the prophylactic prevention of disease, should cease. In another key recommendation, he also proposed that farmers should no longer be able to use antibiotics in animals without the supervision of a veterinarian.