FDA Proposal Will Not Sufficiently Curb Injudicious Use of Antibiotics in Food Animals

The Food and Drug Administration published a concept paper in early January that describes a preliminary proposal for how the agency will ensure that companies developing antibiotics for administration to animals establish defined, evidence-based durations of use for all medically important antibiotics.

Duration limits are an essential component of the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often called superbugs, because antibiotic use in any setting contributes to the emergence of such bacteria. However, many antibiotics that are also medically important for people can be given for very long or undefined durations in food animals, meaning that they can be given for weeks or months or even indefinitely throughout the animal’s life span