U.S. Poultry Still Fed Banned Antibiotics: Report
Fluoroquinolones found in 8 of 12 samples tested, researchers say
April 5, 2012
THURSDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- There's evidence that a class of antibiotics that was banned for use in poultry in 2005 is still being used in U.S. poultry production, a new study says.
These antibiotics -- called fluoroquinolones -- are used to treat serious bacterial infections in people, particularly infections that are resistant to older classes of antibiotics.
A primary reason for the 2005 U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry was the increasing rate of fluoroquinolone resistance in Campylobacter bacteria.
In this study, researchers analyzed feather meal, a poultry production byproduct that is made from poultry feathers and is a common additive to chicken, swine, cattle and fish feed.
The researchers said they were surprised to find fluoroquinolones in eight of 12 samples of feather meal from different states. The presence of fluoroquinolones in the feather meal suggests that the poultry received the antibiotics before they were slaughtered, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Arizona State University researchers explained.
The study was recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Fluoroquinolones are a class of antibiotics that includes ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Proquin), enoxacin (Penetrex) and levofloxacin (Levaquin), among others.
"The discovery of certain antibiotics in feather meal strongly suggests the continued use of these drugs, despite the ban put in place in 2005 by the FDA," lead author David Love said in a Hopkins news release.
"The public health community has long been frustrated with the unwillingness of FDA to effectively address what antibiotics are fed to food animals," he added.
Study co-author Keeve Nachman, director of the Farming for the Future Program at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, said the rate of fluoroquinolone resistance should have dropped since the ban.
"With such a ban, you would expect a decline in resistance to these drugs," Nachman noted. "The continued use of fluoroquinolones and unintended antibiotic contamination of poultry feed may help explain why high rates of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter continue to be found on commercial poultry meat products over half a decade after the ban."
The findings show the need for stronger regulation.
"We strongly believe that the FDA should monitor what drugs are going into animal feed," Nachman said. "Based on what we've learned, I'm concerned that the new FDA guidance documents, which call for voluntary action from industry, will be ineffectual. By looking into feather meal, and uncovering a drug banned nearly six years ago, we have very little confidence that the food animal production industry can be left to regulate itself."
Alert:
When antibiotics are introduced into the feed and water of industrially raised poultry in the United States, the purpose is to spur growth, not treat disease, these experts said.The Drug the Doctor Ordered Could Cause Deadly Side Effects
Fluoroquinolones
Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin) and Avelox (moxifloxacin)
Fluoroquinolones are antibiotics used to treat many strains of bacterial pathogens. It is also considered a chemotherapeutic antibiotic and a 2005 study from Italy found that among more than 50 types of drugs, Fluroquinolones were involved in the largest number of serious problems and accounted for 11% of all adverse events. http://www.pointofreturn.com/fluoroquinolones.html#contact
For help with Fluoroquinolone reactions call toll free 866.605.2333 or send us a inquiry. http://www.pointofreturn.com/contact.html#consult
REFERENCES:
In a 2001 study by Dr. Jay Cohen, the following reaction rates were documented: 2
- Nervous system symptoms occurred in 91 percent of patients (pain, tingling and numbness, dizziness, malaise, weakness, headaches, anxiety and panic, loss of memory, psychosis)
- Musculoskeletal symptoms in 73 percent of patients (tendon ruptures, tendonitis, weakness, joint swelling)
- Sensory symptoms in 42 percent of patients (tinnitus, altered visual, olfactory, and auditory function)
- Cardiovascular symptoms in 36 percent of patients (tachycardia, shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations)
- Skin reactions in 29 percent of patients (rashes, hair loss, sweating, intolerance to heat or cold)
- Gastrointestinal symptoms in 18 percent of patients (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain)
Let us Help! For help with Fluoroquinolone reactions call toll free 866.605.2333 or send us an inquiry. http://www.pointofreturn.com/contact.html#consult
More information
The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics has more about antibiotic resistance.
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The serious events may occur during therapeutic use at therapeutic dose levels or with acute overdose. At therapeutic doses, they include: CNS toxicity, cardiovascular toxicity, tendon / articular toxicity, and, rarely, hepatic toxicity.[22] Caution is required in patients with liver disease.[23] Events that may occur in acute overdose are rare, and include renal failure and seizure.[22]
Susceptible groups of patients, such as children and the elderly, are at greater risk of adverse reactions during therapeutic use.[13][14]
Tendon damage may manifest during, as well as after fluoroquinolone therapy has been completed.[24]
Fluoroquinolones, clindamycin, and fourth generation cephalosporins are considered high-risk antibiotics for the development of Clostridium difficile and MRSA infections.[25][26]
Quinolones, in comparison to other antibiotic classes, have among the highest risk of causing colonization with MRSAand Clostridium difficile.[25][27][28] A previously rare strain of C. difficile that produces a more severe disease with increased levels of toxins is becoming epidemic, and may be connected to the use of fluoroquinolones.[29]
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control recommends fluoroquinolones and the antibiotic clindamycin should be minimized in clinical practice due to their high association with C. difficile, a potentially life-threatening super-infection.[27]
The CNS is an important target for fluoroquinolone-mediated neurotoxicity. Spontaneous adverse event reporting in Italy by doctors showed fluoroquinolones among the top three prescribed drugs reported for causing adverse neurological and psychiatric effects.
These neuropsychiatriceffects included tremor, confusion, anxiety, insomnia, agitation, and, in severe cases, psychosis. Moxifloxacin came out worst among the quinolones for causing CNS toxicity.[30]
Some support and patient advocacy groups refer to these adverse events as "fluoroquinolone toxicity". Some people from these groups claim to have suffered serious long-term harm to their health from using fluoroquinolones. A class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of individuals alleging harm by the use of fluoroquinolones, as well as action by the consumer advocate group, Public Citizen.[31][32] Partly as a result of the efforts of Public Citizen, the FDA ordered boxed warnings on all fluoroquinolones, advising consumers of an enhanced risk of tendon damage.[33]
The risk of fluoroquinolone-induced tendon injury is elevated in juveniles, and thus the approved uses of fluoroquinolones in persons less that 18 years of age are limited to the use of ciprofloxacin to treat certain types of complicated urinary tract infections and inhalation anthrax. The increased risk of adverse events in juveniles conferred by ciprofloxacin compared to non-fluoroquinolone antibiotics has been demonstrated in controlled clinical trials, and is supported by an internal FDA review of spontaneous adverse event reports.[34][35]
In the field of veterinary medicine, flouroquinolones such as enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin can cause retinopathies in cats because their ABCG2 transporter has several amino acid differences that are detrimental to their function.[citation needed]
http://poultryproductionnews.blogspot.com/2012/04/study-finds-fluoroquinolones-in-poultry.html
Published on Apr 16, 2012
In a joint study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) and Arizona State University found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by the U.S. government for poultry production is still in use. The study looked for drugs and other residues in feather meal, a common additive to chicken, swine, cattle and fish feed.
The most important drugs found in the study were fluoroquinolones—broad spectrum antibiotics used to treat serious bacterial infections in people, particularly those infections that have become resistant to older antibiotic classes. The banned drugs were found in 8 of 12 samples of feather meal in a multi-state study. The findings were a surprise to scientists because fluoroquinolone use in U.S. poultry production was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2005...
This is the first time investigators have examined feather meal, a byproduct of poultry production made from poultry feathers, to determine what drugs poultry may have received prior to their slaughter and sale.
The annual per capita human consumption of poultry products is approximately 100 pounds, greater than that of any other animal- or vegetable-derived protein source in the U.S. To satisfy this demand, each year, the U.S. poultry industry raises nearly 9 billion broiler chickens and 247 million turkeys, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A large percentage of the fresh weight of these animals is inedible—an estimated 33 percent for chickens, for example—and is recycled for other uses, including feather meal.
The rendering industry, which converts animal byproducts into a wide range of materials, processes poultry feathers into feather meal, which is often added as a supplement to poultry, pig, ruminant, and fish feeds or sold as an "organic" fertilizer.
In a companion study, researchers found inorganic arsenic in feather meal used in retail fertilizers. The discovery of certain antibiotics in feather meal strongly suggests the continued use of these drugs, despite the ban put in place in 2005 by the FDA.
A primary reason for the 2005 FDA
ban on the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry production was an alarming increase in the rate of the fluoroquinolone resistance among Campylobacter bacteria. In recent years, the rate of fluoroquinolone resistance slow, but not drop.
With such a ban, you would expect a decline in resistance to these drugs. The continued use of fluoroquinolones and unintended antibiotic contamination of poultry feed may help explain why high rates of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter continue to be found on commercial poultry meat products over half a decade after the ban.
In the U.S., antibiotics are introduced into the feed and water of industrially raised poultry, primarily to make them grow faster, rather than to treat disease. An estimated 13.2 million kilograms of antibiotics were sold in 2009 to the U.S. poultry and livestock industries, which represented nearly 80 percent of all antibiotic sales for use in humans and animals in the U.S. that year.
In the U.S., antibiotics are introduced into the feed and water of industrially raised poultry, primarily to make them grow faster, rather than to treat disease. An estimated 13.2 million kilograms of antibiotics were sold in 2009 to the U.S. poultry and livestock industries, which represented nearly 80 percent of all antibiotic sales for use in humans and animals in the U.S. that year.
In conducting the study, researchers analyzed commercially available feather meal samples, acquired from six U.S. states and China, for a suite of 59 pharmaceuticals and personal care products. All 12 samples tested had between 2 and 10 antibiotic residues.
In addition to antimicrobials, 7 other personal care products, including the pain reliever acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol), the antihistamine diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl) and the antidepressant fluoxetine (the active ingredient in Prozac), were detected.
Researchers also found caffeine in 10 of 12 feather meal samples. This study reveals yet another pathway of unwanted human exposure to a surprisingly broad spectrum of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
And when researchers exposed several strains of E.coli bacteria to the concentrations of antibiotics found in the feather meal samples, they also discovered the drug residues could select for resistant bacteria.
A high enough concentration was found in one of the samples to select for bacteria that are resistant to drugs important to treat infections in humans.
The FDA should"monitor" what drugs are going into animal feed. And the so called new FDA guidance documents, which call for voluntary action from industry, will be ineffectual.
Since by looking into feather meal, and uncovering a drug banned nearly 6 years ago, this shows the unwillingness of FDA to effectively address what antibiotics are fed to food animals and we do not trust the Obesity Industrial Complex to regulate itself either...
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