From: Maggie Wineburgh-Freed [mwfreed@belen.hsc.usc.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 6:40 PM
To: EXECSEC
Subject: National Antibiotic-Use Reporting System

Dear Dr. Henney,

The FDA should move now to establish a system for collecting basic data on agricultural antibiotic use in the United States.  The information should be collected for both human and agricultural use and should include the class, indication, dosage, and treatment period.

While there is growing acceptance of the causes of antibiotic resistance, there are few publicly available data on the quantity of antibiotics used in the United States - data that are necessary for scientists to explore the links between antibiotic use and the development of drug resistance and for developing rational strategies to curb use.

Government-guaranteed information on U.S. antibiotic use is necessary for creating effective
solutions for reducing antibiotic use.  The Food and Drug Administration has recognized the need for collecting such information, but it has not taken steps to establish the needed system.

The rise in antibiotic resistance is slowly eliminating the effectiveness of these drugs for treating infectious diseases in people.  While the misuse of antibiotics in human medicine is the larger contributor to the problem, there is agreement among public health experts that the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture is also impacting human health by contributing to the rise in drug-resistant microorganisms.

Sincerely,

Maggie Wineburgh-Freed

4652 Oak Grove Circle
Los Angeles, CA  90041
mwfreed@usc.edu