Senate Bill Addresses Antibiotics in Animal Feed.
According to Feinstein's office, in 2010, the senator was contacted by the Don family of Ramona, California. Their son, Carlos, "a bright and athletic 12-year old," became gravely ill with an infection while at summer camp and did not respond to antibiotics. "It took doctors 48 hours to find a medication that could kill the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, that had infected his body. By that time, Carlos' lungs, kidneys, liver, intestine and heart had failed. With only some brain activity left, Carlos lost his life because the antibiotics that hospitals have relied on for 80 years no longer worked," said Feinstein's office in a statement late last week. "No parent should ever undergo the heartbreak and the tragedy that the Don's went through," said Feinstein. "My bill makes important changes to the use of antibiotics and ensures that operations on a farm do not negatively impact the health and well being of families across the nation." The bill Feinstein is championing, PAMTA, mirrors a bill introduced by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the only microbiologist serving in Congress. The legislation: -- Phases out the non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics in livestock; -- Requires new applications for animal antibiotics to demonstrate the use of the antibiotic will not endanger public health; -- Does not restrict the use of antibiotics to treat sick livestock or to treat pets. "PAMTA will limit the agricultural use of seven types of antibiotics that have been identified by the Food and Drug Administration as critically important in human medicine to ensure that antibiotic-resistance is not inadvertently accelerated," according to Feinstein's office.
