Sens. Feinstein, Collins introduce bill to reduce the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture

U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) recently introduced the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act, which aims to preserve the effectiveness of medically-important antibiotics used to treat human and animal bacterial infections.

U.S. Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced companion legislation in the House.

The bill seeks to reduce the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture that create drug-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are frequently used in the livestock industry to compensate for the closed-quartered, unsanitary conditions in which the animals are frequently raised. Overuse of those antibiotics eventually led to a rise in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and other pathogens, rendering many treatments ineffective.

“The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a growing danger to the health and safety of patients,” Collins said. “By reducing the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, our bipartisan legislation will help address one of the contributing factors to this problem.”

The act also requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw approval for using medically-important antibiotics in agriculture, unless the drug manufacturer can demonstrate that its use does not pose a risk to human health.

The Secretary of Health Human Services would be required to provide an updated list of medically-important antimicrobial drugs periodically in order to keep current practice up to date with the latest medical data.

The act would also require the use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in agriculture to be overseen by a veterinarian.