Antibiotic Resistance Threatens Public Health

Doctors depend on antibiotics to treat illnesses caused by bacteria, from pneumonia to meningitis and other life-threatening infections. The effectiveness of many antibiotics has begun to wane, the legacy of decades of unnecessary overuse in both human medicine and agriculture.

Keep Antibiotics Working is a coalition of health, consumer, agricultural, environmental, humane and other advocacy groups with more than ten million members dedicated to eliminating a major cause of antibiotic resistance: the inappropriate use of antibiotics in food animals. For a general overview of the issue, see the Campaign's fact sheets: Antibiotic Resistance - An Emerging Public Health Crisis (an annotated version is also available) and Antibiotic Resistance and Animal Agriculture.

PBS story on antibiotic resistance

Click here or on the image above to view this Quicktime video.

Share Your Experience

If you or a family member has been ill with an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection, please fill out the KAW Share Your Experience form. Your information will be completely confidential. Please keep in mind that we are unable to provide medical treatment or expertise to you at this time.

ACT NOW

Urge Congress to pass legislation that will keep antibiotics working. ACT NOW!

* June 15, 2009

Why is antibiotic resistance a key food safety issue? Find out here.

* June 3, 2009

Margaret A. Hamburg, the new FDA commissioner, commented on the use of antibiotics in livestock. "It's a huge concern of mine in terms of the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in this country and around the world."

* April 2, 2009

KAW and allied groups urge the FDA to take immediate steps to keep antibiotics working for future generations. Read more here.

* March 17, 2009

Today Representative Slaughter reintroduced PAMTA, a public health bill to help fight antibiotic resistance. Read KAW's press release about this important piece of legislation.

* March 15, 2009

Read Nicholas Kristof's op-ed on MRSA and pig farming.

* January 26, 2009

First US-based study shows dangerous "pig strain" of MRSA now present in US swine and swine farmers. Read our press release for more information.

* December 29, 2008

Listen to NPR's coverage of the FDA's reversal of the cephalosporin ban.

* December 8, 2008

The FDA has failed to protect public health yet again, this time by rescinding its own ban on the extralabel use of cephalosporins in food animals. Read KAW's press release , as well as the notice in the Federal Register for more information.