Senate Wants to Save You From Superbugs By Ending Farms’ Overuse of Antibiotics

stuartbramhall:

 

 

Senators sponsor bill to end routine use of antibiotics on factory farms, a major factor in deadly antibiotic resistance.

Originally posted on thekirkshow:

Image Credit: Peta Kids

In the mostly toothless fight by the Food and Drug Administration to combat the alarming rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs—a spike that can be traced in large part to the profligate overuse of the lifesaving drugs on factory farms—we can at least take heart in one thing: Someone in Washington, D.C., still seems to care about the issue.

It’s not just any old someone. Rather, four U.S. senators are pushing legislation that would close a gaping loophole in the FDA’s voluntary program to address the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the bill Monday, which was cosponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. If passed, the legislation would require the FDA to actively regulate the use of drugs that are important to human health and end the use of antibiotics and dosages that violate the agency’s…

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