July 29, 2005

US to stop Baytril use in poultry

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has for the first time withdrawn a veterinary drug due to antibiotic resistance concerns.

On Jul 28, the US Agency announced that it would soon stop veterinary antibiotic drug Baytril in poultry as it causes the emergence of campylobacter, a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans.

The drug generically known as enrofloxacin fights respiratory diseases in chickens. However, those that survive become resistant to antibiotics such as Cipro, the standard treatment for campylobacter. These drug-resistant strains can be passed into people who eat undercooked chicken.

In fact, ever since Baytril was licensed for use in 1996, antibiotic-resistant strains have increased to 21 percent in the 1 million campylobacter human infections annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Campylobacter live in digestive tracts of poultry but when they enter into humans, can cause cramps, fever and bloody diarrhoea and lead to complications such as arthritis or life-threatening blood infections.

However, Baytril producer Bayer Animal Health said that drug is a last-resort drug to fight respiratory diseases in poultry and is used on less than 1 percent of chickens and turkeys in the US.

The National Chicken Council, a producer group in Washington DC, also pointed out that Baytril is the only medication for these infections, which can wipe out entire flocks-some as large as 20,000-very quickly. The chicken market is worth some US$50 billion in the US.

The FDA ruling will not apply to Baytril use in other animals such as dogs and cats, which do not pass campylobacter to humans, according to FDA's center for veterinary medicine director Dr. Stephen F Sundlof.

Unless Bayer appeals, the decision will go into effect Sept 12, said the FDA commissioner Lester M. Crawford.