From: Henney, Jane Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 10:15 PM To: EXECSEC Subject: FW: End Use of Human Antibiotics in Livestock Feed > ---------- > From: iandeb@mediaone.net[SMTP:IANDEB@MEDIAONE.NET] > Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 10:15:41 PM > To: jhenney@oc.fda.gov > Subject: End Use of Human Antibiotics in Livestock Feed > Auto forwarded by a Rule > Ian Boardman 18 Linwood St. Arlington, MA 02474 iandeb@mediaone.net Dear Dr. Henney, I am writing in support of Petition 99P-0485 to urge you to ban medically useful antibiotics from livestock feed. For decades, livestock producers have fed human antibiotics to hogs, cows and poultry to speed their growth or counteract the effects of crowded living conditions and poor hygiene. In fact, about one third of the antibiotics manufactured in the United States each year ends up in animal feed. Mounting evidence has proven that the overuse of antibiotics for livestock makes the drugs less effective for humans. I am personally very concerned about the current situation, as I have a heart defect that makes me vulnerable even to common germs that reside in my own body. My life was once saved by common anti-biotics delivered intravenously. What if the germs "learn" be resistant to these life-saving anti-biotics by being constantly exposed to them in the meat that I eat? If such resistant germs get into my bloodstream in sufficient numbers, I could quite literally die of an unstoppable infection in my heart. Scientists, health organizations and governments around the world are urging that antibiotics not be squandered on fattening livestock. The World Health Organization recommended that antibiotics used to treat humans not be used to promote animal growth. The GAO reported that "research has linked three diseases with antibiotic-resistant strains affecting humans to the use of antibiotics in animals;" and the European Union has already banned human antibiotics in animal feed. I urge you not to allow an antibiotic to be used in livestock feed if that antibiotic is used in human medicine. Please tell me how you plan to address this looming health crisis. Sincerely, Ian Boardman