Page "Antibacterial" Paragraph 45

The emergence of antibacterial resistance has prompted restrictions on antibacterial use in the UK in 1970 ( Swann report 1969 ), and the EU has banned the use of antibacterials as growth-promotional agents since 2003.

Moreover, several organizations ( e. g., The American Society for Microbiology ( ASM ), American Public Health Association ( APHA ) and the American Medical Association ( AMA )) have called for restrictions on antibiotic use in food animal production and an end to all nontherapeutic uses.

However, commonly there are delays in regulatory and legislative actions to limit the use of antibacterials, attributable partly to resistance against such regulation by industries using or selling antibacterials, and to the time required for research to test causal links between antibacterial use and resistance.

Two federal bills ( S. 742 and H. R.

2562 ) aimed at phasing out nontherapeutic use of antibacterials in US food animals were proposed, but have not passed.

These bills were endorsed by public health and medical organizations, including the American Holistic Nurses ’ Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Public Health Association ( APHA ).