Forwarded by Jane Clark, from:
Defenders of Wildlife
Rural Updates!
March 29, 2004

Joining together to ensure abundant family farms, healthy critters, safe
food and a wild Earth.

TAKE ACTION: ASK BAYER TO HELP KEEP ANTIBIOTICS WORKING

A judge last week upheld a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to
ban the use of the antibiotic
drugs Baytril and SaraFlox in chickens because of the risk of antibiotic
resistance. Baytril and SaraFlox belong to a class of drugs called
fluoroquinolones, and are virtually identical to the human drug Cipro. In
addition to being the most important drug for the treatment of anthrax,
Cipro is a key drug in treating severe food-borne illness in humans such as
that caused by Campylobacter - particularly in people with weakened immune
systems, such as cancer patients, transplant recipients, and persons with
HIV/AIDS. In upholding the ban, Administrative Law Judge Daniel J. Davidson
accepted the FDA position that chickens treated with Baytril produce
resistant bacteria that cause food poisoning that could not be treated by
the related human antibiotics. Abbot Laboratories has removed SaraFlox from
the market, but Bayer, the maker of Baytril, is planning to appeal the
ruling. The Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition is urging groups and
individuals to ask Bayer not to appeal the ruling. You can find out more at
www.keepantibioticsworking.com

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