US FDA bans use of Bayer antibiotic in poultry - US - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided on Thursday to ban the use of Bayer's antibiotic Baytril in the poultry industry, saying use of the drug has lead to increased occurences of antibiotic-resistant food-borne infections in people.

FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford ordered the withdrawal of the approval for use of the drug in the poultry industry, and the ban will be effective as of Sept. 12.

Scientific data has shown that the use of the drug, generically known as enrofloxacin, caused resistance in a bacteria normally harbored in the digestive tracts of chickens and turkeys, called campylobacter bacteria, the FDA said.

It said enrofloxacin, part of a family of drugs known as fluoroquinolones, does not completely eliminate campylobacter, and the surviving bacteria develop a resistance which then makes fluoroquinolones less effective in treating people.

Since the beginning of the drug's use in the poultry industry in the 1990s, the proportion of antibiotic-resistant campylobacter infections in humans has risen significantly, the FDA said.

Campylobacter bacteria are a significant cause of food-borne illness in the United States. Complications of such infections can include reactive arthritis and, more rarely, blood stream infections.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - 29th July 2005