Day: August 10, 2010

House subcommittee examines antimicrobial use in animal agriculture

Ban on nontherapeutic uses considered A hearing before a congressional subcommittee this summer looked at the extent to which antimicrobial use in animal agriculture may be contributing to the ineffectiveness of antimicrobial drugs used in human medicine. It was the third hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health on the overall threat of antimicrobial resistance to public health—an issue that’s been called one of the greatest health care challenges of modern time. This latest hearing, held July 14, brought together physicians and veterinarians who offered conflicting analyses of the degree to which they

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August 10, 2010 No Comments

USDA plans to require ID for interstate livestock

HELENA — Federal officials looking to head off livestock disease outbreaks are drafting regulations that would require farmers to identify animals that move across state lines. The aim is to reduce illness and deaths by making it easier for officials to trace brucellosis, tuberculosis and other diseases to a particular group of animals, location and time. The regulations are being drafted six months after the U.S. Department of Agriculture dropped an unpopular voluntary program meant to trace livestock movement, and they are expected to be implemented in 2013. “A voluntary system has not worked so far, and

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August 10, 2010 No Comments