Antibiotics in animal feed can harm children | Animals | Forums

think they will ban the?

Doctors' ability to treat life-threatening infections in children is being compromised, according to a new report from the nation's largest pediatricians group.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) technical report says the practice of adding antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs to the feed of healthy livestock, commonly done to promote growth and prevent disease among animals in crowded conditions, often leaves the drugs ineffective when they're needed to treat infections in people, especially the youngest among us.

"Antibiotic resistance is becoming a bigger and bigger problem, both in kids and adults, so much so that some infections are becoming difficult, if not impossible to treat," Dr. David Haslam, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and the Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told CBS News.

Children with compromised immune systems are especially at risk, Haslam said, including children going through cancer treatment, bone marrow transplants, or organ transplants. Kids in the hospital for trauma and some other serious problems can be more at risk, too.

more http://www.cbsnews.c.....ediatrics/