From: Peter M. Wolanin [pwolanin@Princeton.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 5:26 PM
To: EXECSEC
Subject: A National Antibiotic-Use Reporting System Is Needed


Dear Commissioner Henney:

I am writing as a concerned citizen and scientist about the use of
antibiotics in American agriculture. The overuse of antibiotics in
agriculture is contributing to the emergence of untreatable diseases in
people.  Reliable data on antibiotic use in agriculture is needed for an
effective national strategy to reduce antibiotic use are unavailable.

I strongly urge the FDA 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.

Collection of this sort of data is the first step towards understanding
the scope of antibiotic use and how it is constributing to the spread of
resistant organisms.  

Please let me know what action the FDA is planning on this issue.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Yours truly,

Dr. Peter Wolanin
45 Moran Ave.
Princeton, NJ 08542