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.

PBS story on antibiotic resistance

Click here or on the image above to view this Quicktime video.

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.

ACT NOW

Urge Congress to pass legislation that will keep antibiotics working. ACT NOW!

* August 30, 2010

Read KAW's comments on FDA's proposed guidance for the use of antibiotics in livestock.

* August 23, 2010

Healthy Food Action is hosting a September 16th webinar on the new scientific consensus that serious new human infections are linked to the practice of adding antibiotics routinely to animal feed. Click here to register for this and other webinars in the Healthy Food, Healthy Farm Webinar series.

* June 29, 2010

Southern California Public Radio interviews KAW chair Richard Wood and PAMTA champion Rep. Slaughter. Listen to the interview Hold the penicillin burgers.

* June 28, 2010

FDA revealed its preliminary plan for addressing antibiotic overuse in livestock today. Read FDA's draft guidance. Read the latest News on this important development.

* June 1, 2010

Watch this clip from Chicago Tonight on "Farm Animal Antibiotics."

* April 18, 2010

Former FDA Commissioner editorializes in favor of passing PAMTA. Read Don Kennedy's New York Times op/ed.

* April 14, 2010

Want the truth about antibiotic use in livestock production? Check out our new fact sheet, complete with key stats and the latest science.

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