The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50284

Tamar F. Barlam, MD, Project on Antibiotic Resistance, Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009, 202-332-9110, tbarlam@cspinet.org

A guest editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, in October 2001, labeled new studies the "smoking gun" linking antibiotic overuse in agriculture to rising problems with drug-resistant infections in humans. The presenter, an infectious disease physician, will summarize the most recent science in this area, focusing on studies concerning the transmission of resistant pathogens via contaminated food. Their significance in the context of pre-existing science will be highlighted, as will be the pros and cons of continued antibiotic use at non-therapeutic levels in agriculture.

Learning Objectives:

• Summarize the basis for concerns about antibiotic use in agriculture.
• Identify two bacterial foodborne pathogens in which the agricultural use of antibiotics is thought to have contributed to greater problems with resistant infections in humans.

Keywords: Food Safety, Antibiotic Resistance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.