In the March 27 editorial, "Save Antibiotics for Lifesaving," the Register rightly recommends that patients protect antibiotics' effectiveness by taking these important drugs only when they are necessary. This is absolutely correct, but the editorial fails to mention the huge amount of unnecessary antibiotic use on farms to speed growth or fend off disease.
If parents are asked to give up antibiotics for their sick children except when a bacterial disease has been identified, shouldn't we also ask farmers to do the same? A bill has been introduced in Congress that does just this, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act. It covers only drugs likely to harm human health and does not affect drugs used for treating sick animals.
Saving lives requires stopping all misuse of antibiotics, and this should apply to animals as well as sick children.
- Steven Roach,
Food Animal Concerns Trust, Ames.Des Moines Register
