The Food and Drug Administration not only has an intensive approval process for drugs for animals that’s similar to the approval human drugs undergo, but the FDA performs additional studies on drugs for food-producing animals not required for human drugs to be sure meat, milk and eggs are safe for us to consume, and that the drugs are safe for the environment. This process is intended to ensure public health.
Comparing animal and human antibiotic use is complicated. That’s why the proper context is so important.
As revealed in the webinar, Dr. Steve Solomon and I share some of the same concerns and priorities, including most importantly that antibiotics must be used responsibly in both human and animal medicine. We covered the changes underway in how antibiotics are being used on farms, the risks, as well as “superbug” concerns and the broader global picture with regard to antibiotic resistance.