Superbug Rise Spurs Rule for Animal Antibiotics
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Farmers will need prescriptions to get antibiotics for their livestock and the drugs should only be given when medically necessary to avoid overuse that can foster resistance, U.S. regulators said today.
The Food and Drug Administration also suggested in three papers released today that drugmakers change their labels to remove production uses of antibiotics, including for weight gain and accelerated growth. Even though farmers will need prescriptions for the antibiotics, they aren’t bound by the new guidelines to restrict nonmedical uses of the drugs.