A new report claims that American doctors may finally be heeding the message that public health regulators and advocates have been pushing for decades: Don’t respond to every cough, fever, or sore throat with a prescription for antibiotics. According to the report, antibiotics prescriptions appear to be on the decline, though physicians are still prescribing these drugs in cases where they aren’t helpful, and may actually cause harm. [More]
drug resistance
Doctors Finally Prescribing Fewer Antibiotics, But Continue Prescribing Unnecessary Antibiotics
By 8.24.17
McDonald’s Gradually Expanding Its Use Of Antibiotic-Free Chickens To Rest Of The World
By 8.23.17
Here in the U.S., McDonald’s says its McNuggets are all already sourced from chickens raised without the use of controversial antibiotics. But the continued overuse of antibiotics in overseas farm animals — particularly in some developing nations where the practice is growing — also puts people worldwide at risk for contracting and spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So today, McDonald’s said it is expanding its antibiotic-free program on a global basis — but not right away. [More]
Science Cooks Up Crazy-Powerful Triple-Action Antibiotic; Still Needs To Be Tested On Humans
By 5.31.17
Researchers have monkeyed around with one of the stronger antibiotics available for use on humans, resulting in a drug that fights pathogens in three different ways and is thousands of times more powerful than its current form. However, it still hasn’t been tested on humans, meaning it’s a long way from reaching pharmacy shelves. [More]
More Than 125,000 People Call On Burger King, KFC, Starbucks & Others To Curb Antibiotics Use
By 1.5.17
While a handful of fast food chains have made at least some commitment to reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock, the majority of these restaurants still have no policy when it comes to this issue. This morning, CEOs of those companies are receiving a petition signed by more than 125,000, asking them to do their part to help prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [More]
Burger King, Tim Hortons To Use Fewer Antibiotics In Chicken
By 12.29.16
Three months after earning its second consecutive “F” grade from public health advocates for its lack of any policy to limit the use of antibiotics in the meat it sources, Burger King’s parent company — which also owns donut chain Tim Hortons — has finally announced plans to cut back on overusing some of these drugs in the chickens it uses. [More]
Sales Of Antibiotics For Farm Animals Continues To Increase, Despite FDA Guidance
By 12.28.16
Three years ago, the Food and Drug Administration — in response to growing concerns about the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria — issued long-delayed guidance to the pharmaceuticals industry, asking drugmakers to voluntarily stop selling antibiotics to farmers solely for the purpose of growth-promotion in cows, pigs, and chicken. And while sales of these drugs have indeed slowed, the latest FDA report shows that they are still on the rise. [More]
Why It’s A Problem That Gene For Drug-Resistant Superbug Was Found On U.S. Farm
By 12.6.16
Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are nothing new on U.S. farms, so why are some people so concerned about the recent discovery, on an American pig farm, of a gene that confers resistance to a vital class of antibiotics? [More]
Report: 140 Medically Important Antibiotics Still Questionably Labeled For Farm Use
By 10.4.16
Companies that make antibiotics for use in farm animals have already agreed to remove growth-promotion indications from their products labels by the end of this year, but a new report claims that a large number of veterinary drugs that are also medically important to humans will still have labels that do little to curb the overuse of antibiotics on livestock. [More]
Burger King, KFC & 14 Other Restaurant Chains Still Earning “F” Grades For Antibiotics Policies
By 9.20.16
Last year, a coalition of public health advocates released a report card grading the nation’s 25 biggest restaurant chains on their antibiotics policies. An astounding 20 of these chains earned “F” grades, usually for completely failing to address this issue. The newest report card shows that a number of restaurants have inched their way out of the basement, but the large majority of these companies appear to be completely ignoring antibiotics concerns. [More]
CDC Reports “Worrisome” News On Antibiotic Use In Hospitals
By 9.19.16
The overuse of antibiotics in human patients and farm animals has been linked to the development of so-called “superbugs” that are resistant to most traditional antibiotics. In a new report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents the “worrisome” news that hospitals are increasingly turning to stronger and broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat patients. [More]
McDonald’s Under Pressure To Get Rid Of Antibiotics In All Meat & Dairy, Worldwide
By 8.12.16
McDonald’s recently confirmed that all of the chicken it serves in the U.S. now comes from birds raised without antibiotics that are medically important to humans, but what about all the beef and pork menu items — not to mention the cheese and other dairy items? And what about McDonald’s eateries in other countries? [More]
Activist Investors Call On KFC To Phase Out Antibiotics In Chickens
By 8.9.16
With Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Papa John’s, and Subway all making an effort to curb antibiotics overuse in chicken and other animals, some investors of Yum Brands say it’s time for KFC to do its part. [More]
Wendy’s Quietly Getting Rid Of Antibiotics In Chicken
By 8.5.16
The same week that McDonald’s publicly touted that its chicken menu items are now 100% free of antibiotics, Wendy’s quietly changed its policies to establish a timeline for ridding its birds of antibiotics that are deemed medically important to humans. [More]
International Partnership Created To Speed Up Antibiotic Development
By 7.28.16
Drug-resistant superbugs are on the rise, increasingly rendering a number of drugs useless even for infections that were once easily treated. At the same time, it’s been more than three decades since medical science found a new class of antibiotics, meaning the bugs may be outpacing the drugs. Today, the U.S. government, along with private organizations in the United Kingdom and stateside, announced a partnership intended to accelerate the development of new antibiotics. [More]
Just In Time For The Weekend: CDC Sees Increase In Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea
By 7.15.16
Once upon a time, if you were unfortunate enough to get gonorrhea, it could be treated with penicillin or several other widely used antibiotics. Not only are those drugs largely ineffective in treating the sexually transmitted disease, but a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a worrisome recent increase in resistance to the drugs that still can be used to treat gonorrhea. [More]
Superbug Gene Found For Second Time In U.S.
By 7.11.16
Weeks after federal researchers confirmed the first discovery in the U.S. of a particular gene plasmid that can make bacteria resistant to an important antibiotic of last resort, a new report has turned up a second stateside instance of the gene. [More]
CDC Director: Drug-Resistant Superbug Means “Medicine Cabinet Is Empty”
By 5.27.16
You know that scene in action movies where the hero has fired every bullet, thrown every piece of throwable furniture, set off every explosive, but still the bad guy lurches forward? At that point, there’s nothing left for the hero to do but run and pray. After the recent discovery in the U.S. of a bacteria that is resistant to a vital last-resort antibiotic, some scientists believe we’re inching dangerously close to that run-and-pray moment in the world of medicine. [More]
Doctors Find Superbug Resistant To Last-Resort Antibiotic In Pennsylvania Woman
By 5.26.16
Welcome to the post-antibiotic world. Doctors say that a 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania was infected with a “truly pan-drug resistant bacteria,” in other words, a bacteria that will not respond to many known antibiotics. [More]
