An informative article with associated sources, illustrating how closely the US is monitoring events in Denmark.
It is a pity Britain still has to live in the veterinary dark ages. The consequences to human health are serious.
Full report and associated PDF from Environmental Health Perspectives here
Germ Warfare? Strategies for Reducing the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance
A growing body of literature describes how human pathogens in the environment acquire antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), a process potentially boosted by selection pressure from antibiotics...
...Limiting antibiotics in animal production is the most direct way to control environmental ARB and ARGs, according to the authors.1 After Denmark banned antibiotics as animal growth promoters in 1998, investigators found marked reductions of antibiotic resistance...
...Good animal husbandry practices, such as low animal density and good nutrition, keep animals healthy and reduce the need for antibiotics...
...Antibiotic resistance is now making an appearance on Capitol Hill. A bill titled Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) was reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2013.9
STAAR was originally introduced in both chambers in 2007 but died in committee.10,11 The House bill was reintroduced in 2009 but once again failed. The legislation would establish an Office of Antimicrobial Resistance and strengthen funding for related research.
