Antibiotic resistance is reaching crisis proportions, resulting in infections that are difficult, or impossible, to treat. Resistant bacteria can evolve even after careful use of antibiotics. But the overuse and misuse of antibiotics greatly accelerates the proliferation of resistant bacteria, thus speeding the demise of antibiotics as effective treatments.

The Campaign's Mission

Keep Antibiotics Working: The Campaign to End Antibiotic Overuse includes concerned health, consumer, agricultural, environmental, humane and other advocacy groups with more than nine million members, all working to reduce the growing public health threat of antibiotic resistance. Our primary goal is to end the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture, though we also support efforts to limit overuse in human medicine. Current estimates indicate that agriculture accounts for more than 80 percent of antibiotic use in the U.S.

The Campaign focuses on three areas:

• Phasing out use in non-sick animals of antibiotics that are or may become important to human medicine;
• Restricting use in sick animals of antibiotics essential for treating sick humans, notably fluoroquinolones;
• Ensuring policymakers and the public will have adequate data at their disposal to track antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic resistance.

Health professional organizations and public interest groups are invited to endorse the Campaign's Principles. Such endorsement does not constitute joining the Campaign - it is simply an indication of support for the principles as stated. To do so, contact Lisa Isenhart.