Subtherapeutic antibiotic use in swine

[6] In 2001, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published that 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics are used annually for growth promotant purposes.

[6] Listed in Table 1 are the specific types of antibiotics used in swine disease treatment, prevention and growth promotion and their importance in human medicine.

[9] Certain bacteria that have the potential to cause human illness, such as Salmonella, that naturally reside in the swine gastrointestinal tracts are constantly exposed to antibiotics.

There is great concern regarding the probability of subtherapeutic antibiotic use in swine causing treatment failures in human medicine.

Many proponents of the ban cite the “precautionary principle” of public health, which states if there is evidence of harm, the method in question should be avoided.

[1] These studies show a very small risk of failure of medical treatment due to resistant bacteria caused by the feeding of STA to livestock.

This pathway depends on the medical doctor’s ability to identify potential antibiotic resistance before prescribing treatment to a patient affected by food-borne illness.

[14] Some opponents of the use of subtherapeutic antibiotics in swine cite data and results from Europe to support a ban in the United States.

[15] In the summer of 2010, the FDA released Guidance #209, which suggests limited livestock use of antibiotics that are medically important to humans.