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FESTIVAL NEWS
Support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act!
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Congress’ only microbiologist, introduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (H.R. 1549) to phase out the non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics on farm animals. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate (S. 619).
As factory farms have crammed more and more animals into tighter and tighter spaces, modern pharmaceuticals have become regular tools of the trade. But this has hatched unintended consequences: more germs that are resistant to antibiotics! According to the National Academy of Sciences, roughly 70 percent of the antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs used in the U.S. are fed to farm animals in order to promote growth and prevent rampant disease. As a result, many common bacteria have developed a resistance to these drugs. When these superbugs then infect humans, they become much more difficult to treat, and the consequences can be devastating. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MRSA infections result in more than 18,000 human deaths every year in the U. S. For comparison, MRSA causes more deaths annually in the U.S. than AIDS does.
This legislation represents an important step! Contact your legislators today and ask for their support. Send a quick and easy e-mail asking them to actively support H.R. 1549 and S. 619 by becoming co-sponsors and voting YES.
Published on July 21, 2009
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