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Antibiotic Resistance Threatens Public Health

Doctors depend on antibiotics to treat illnesses caused by bacteria, from pneumonia to meningitis and other life-threatening infections. The effectiveness of many antibiotics has begun to wane, the legacy of decades of unnecessary overuse in both human medicine and agriculture.

Keep Antibiotics Working is a coalition of health, consumer, agricultural, environmental, humane and other advocacy groups with more than eleven million members dedicated to eliminating a major cause of antibiotic resistance: the inappropriate use of antibiotics in food animals.

For a general overview of the issue, see the Campaign's fact sheets: Antibiotic Resistance - An Emerging Public Health Crisis (an annotated version is also available) and Antibiotic Resistance and Animal Agriculture.

Personal Stories of Antibiotic Resistance

Ruby's Story “I would not wish this experience on anyone, ever. No one should have to go through this: A helpless baby, ten months old ---miserable and hooked up to tubes and machines.” More...	Diana's Story “I was so sick that I really didn’t think about the future or the past. I was fighting to live and didn’t have time or energy to think about dying. All that was in my mind was, “I have to get through this.”” More...

Share Your Experience

If you or a family member has been ill with an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection, please fill out the KAW Share Your Experience form. Your information will be completely confidential. Please keep in mind that we are unable to provide medical treatment or expertise to you at this time.

* Take Action!
Act now to keep antibiotics working today!

* April 11, 2012

The FDA today announced new voluntary guidelines on the use of antibiotics in livestock. Read KAW's press release on why voluntary regulation of industry is misguided.

* March 23, 2012

Today, Judge Theodore Katz ordered the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw feed additive approvals of penicillin and tetracyclines unless drug makers are able to show that they are safe. Read more about this public health victory!

* March 6, 2012

Read KAW's comments to the Food & Drug Administration in support of restricting extralabel uses of cephalosporin antibiotics in livestock.

* February 10, 2012

Watch Dr. David Wallinga, a key member of KAW, give a talk entitled "Raising Pigs & Problems: Saying No to Antibiotics in Animal Feed" as part of TedX Manhattan.

* January 12, 2012

Read KAW's recent letter to the editor in the New York Times.

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Personal Stories of Antibiotic Resistance