Scientists Say Education and Research, Not Bans, Needed to Manage Antibiotic Resistance

6/26/2002

From: Ron Phillips of the Animal Health Institute, 202-637-2440

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Microbiologists are raising a red flag about legislation proposed by Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that would prohibit several antibiotic uses in food animals.

A letter sent June 15 by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), signed by the president and the chair of its Public and Scientific Affairs Board, cautioned Rep. Brown that his legislation would not appropriately address antimicrobial resistance. Instead, ASM said that, "Only through education and prudent antimicrobial use practices will we be able to decrease the current prevalence of resistant pathogens. And only through aggressive, well supported research programs will we find alternatives to curtail the future spread of these and other, newly resistant pathogens."

ASM's recommendations are consistent with statements made today at a hearing on the Interagency Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antibiotic Resistance. David M. Bell, M.D., a co-chair of the Interagency Task Force and Assistant to the Director of Antimicrobial Resistance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that the Action Plan had successfully addressed antimicrobial resistance in human medicine through prudent use, educational programs, local intervention, infection control, and research.

Dr. Richard Carnevale, vice president of scientific, regulatory, and international affairs at the Animal Health Institute (AHI), applauded ASM's letter because it is in line with the government's position that antimicrobial resistance should be addressed through education, prudent use, and research.

"We absolutely agree with ASM that legislation and regulations should be science-based and that further research is needed to better understand the issue we're dealing with," Carnevale said. "Further, we agree with CDC that infection control at a local level, coupled with education, are effective measures for managing antibiotic resistance."

Part of the necessary research efforts, Carnevale said, should include a review of the studies from Europe that monitor effects of antibiotic bans. "There is much evidence coming out of European surveillance agencies showing that broad political fixes are counterproductive," he said. "What is disturbing is that data and experience from Europe show some negative effects of banning antibiotics, including compromising animal health and food safety."

"We also agree with ASM and the U.S. government that education and prudent use are important in managing antibiotic resistance. In fact, in food animal production, veterinarians, livestock and poultry producers, and animal health companies are already working together on programs to ensure judicious use of antibiotics to protect them as valuable tools for keeping food animals healthy and providing a safe food supply. This is the way forward to address antibiotic resistance, not hasty legislation based on assumptions," he said.