{"id":846,"date":"2014-09-07T22:08:50","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T02:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/?p=846"},"modified":"2014-09-10T11:00:36","modified_gmt":"2014-09-10T15:00:36","slug":"growth-promotion-now-called-prophylaxis-the-logic-of-chicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2014\/09\/07\/846\/growth-promotion-now-called-prophylaxis-the-logic-of-chicks\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth Promotion Now Called Prophylaxis \u2013 The Logic of Chicks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Broiler<\/a>
Chickens in Broiler Battery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

California is getting rid of a time-honored justification for antibiotic use in veterinary medicine [1]<\/a>.\u00a0 No longer will it be acceptable to prescribe them for \u00a0\u201dgrowth promotion\u201d, but rather only for \u201cprophylaxis\u201d.\u00a0 Just like in humans, so it is argued, does prudent use of antibiotics have a place in prevention, not just for the treatment of infections\u00a0[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is an interesting argument.\u00a0 Think about it for a while and you may feel that this analogy makes good sense and is actually -or at least maybe – quite convincing.<\/p>\n

Certainly, for humans, there is endocarditis prophylaxis for certain patients and procedures.\u00a0 I guess, Californians would want the same benefit for little chicks with valvular disease when they get their teeth cleaned, wouldn\u2019t you?\u00a0 Okay, they don\u2019t have teeth so maybe meningitis prophylaxis would be a better example.\u00a0 How about an immunocompromised chick getting readied for organ transplantation or some serious surgery? \u00a0All good reasons for prophylactic antibiotics when the broiler environment is just not aseptic enough to prevent infection.<\/p>\n

The California politicians may have had prophylaxis for travelers\u2019 diarrhea on their\u00a0minds, something easier to relate to than endocarditis, esp. when you live so close to Mexico.\u00a0 But such use is no longer condoned according to current human guidelines which strongly speak out against it [3]. \u00a0

CDC does not recommend antimicrobial drugs to prevent Traveler\u2019s Diarrhea\u00a0[3]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/p>\n

So, I am sympathetic to the need for antibiotics in veterinary medicine for certain prophylactic situations like endocarditis, surgery, and the poor transplant population (which is more at home in scientific labs than broiler units).<\/p>\n

But maybe this is all wrong and we should look closer at the evidence and learn from the veterinary experience. Antibiotics allow animals to stay healthy in filthy environments, gain muscle without the interruptions of infectious diseases, avoid stunted growth, etc., etc. \u00a0\u00a0We are told that chicks tolerate antibiotics without side effects that infection does not spread from cage to cage, and that resistance is really not much of an issue.<\/p>\n

Given all these benefits in the veterinary world isn\u2019t it time to rethink our restrictive human policies and use antibiotics more liberally?\u00a0 After all, only 20% of antibiotic use is for human afflictions.\u00a0 Why not give our athletes antibiotics instead of steroids with all their horrific side effects?\u00a0 It won\u2019t hurt them, and there is the added benefit of muscle build-up.\u00a0 Think about the use in children who lose valuable days at school because of strep throats.\u00a0 And I am also thinking of our cubicle workers that sit close together and are prone to exchanging germs.\u00a0 They all would benefit from antibiotics in their drinking water.<\/p>\n

As humans, we belong to the animal kingdom.\u00a0 Hence, we should not feel embarrassed to admit our tendency to become antibiotic junkies!\u00a0 Our politicians are trailblazers in this regard and behave like chicks already.\u00a0

We cannot simply remove a tool that veterinarians use to uphold their oath – Sen. Jerry Hill<\/i>\u00a0[2]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/p>\n

The logic of lobbyists has created a novel justification for continuing the widespread abuse of antibiotics in chickens and other livestock.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.foodsafetynews.com\/2014\/0\/california-antibiotics-bill-close-to-becoming-law\/#.VAyR5vldV8E<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> http:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/2014\/07\/26\/6580989\/another-view-livestock-antibiotics.html<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncidod\/dbmd\/diseaseinfo\/travelersdiarrhea_g.htm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California is getting rid of a time-honored justification for antibiotic use in veterinary medicine [1].\u00a0 No longer will it be acceptable to prescribe them for \u00a0\u201dgrowth promotion\u201d, but rather only for \u201cprophylaxis\u201d.\u00a0 Just like in humans, so it is argued, does prudent use of antibiotics have a place in prevention, Continue reading Growth Promotion Now Called Prophylaxis \u2013 The Logic of Chicks<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[403,527,532,529,534,531,530,533,528],"class_list":["post-846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the_news","category-the_viewpoint","tag-antibiotic-blog","tag-broiler","tag-california","tag-chickens","tag-endocarditis-prophylaxis","tag-growth-promoter","tag-prophylaxis","tag-sb-835","tag-veterinary-use-of-antibiotics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/chickfarm-e1410361176796.jpe","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4KWFr-dE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2084,"url":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2015\/10\/28\/2084\/making-the-news-something-hilarious-something-ominous\/","url_meta":{"origin":846,"position":0},"title":"Making The News: \u00a0Something Hilarious, Something Ominous…","author":"Harald","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Hilarious: \u00a0Chicks and Kids Antibiotic use in animals is defended as infection prophylaxis, but the honest reason why chickens are exposed for most days of their short life to antibiotics of various kinds is for growth promotion.\u00a0 Antibiotic use keeps those chicks healthy which in turn makes them eat more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recent Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Recent Literature","link":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/category\/recent_literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hilarious - slider copy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Hilarious-slider-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Hilarious-slider-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Hilarious-slider-copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1521,"url":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2015\/06\/07\/1521\/cattle-and-pigs-and-chickens-oh-yeah\/","url_meta":{"origin":846,"position":1},"title":"Cattle and Pigs and Chickens, Oh Yeah!","author":"Harald","date":"June 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) Final Rule was announced earlier this month by FDA, the accompanying press release called it a \u2018major step towards judicious antibiotic use\u2019 in veterinary medicine\u00a0[1]. There are several elements which look good, at least on paper: As prescribers of any and all antibiotics it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Did you know...?"","block_context":{"text":"Did you know...?","link":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/category\/interesting_facts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"images","src":"http:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/images.jpe","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2942,"url":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2016\/12\/15\/2942\/antibiotic-inhalers-galore-part-1-more-combinations-permutations-rubiks-cube\/","url_meta":{"origin":846,"position":2},"title":"Antibiotic Inhalers Galore (Part 1): \u00a0More Combinations and Permutations than a Rubik\u2019s Cube","author":"Harald","date":"December 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"There is much interest in inhaled antibiotics these days.\u00a0 Prima facie, the logic for this approach is compelling: Getting the antibiotic (and a lot of it) directly to the site of infection, while avoiding systemic toxicity, sounds like optimized efficacy plus optimized safety combined.\u00a0 However, some high-profile failures were published\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "QIDP Antibiotics"","block_context":{"text":"QIDP Antibiotics","link":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/category\/qidp_antibiotic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Inhalational-Abx-slider.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Inhalational-Abx-slider.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Inhalational-Abx-slider.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1385,"url":"https:\/\/allphasepharma.com\/dir\/2015\/04\/21\/1385\/an-inconvenient-truth-ciprofloxacin-resistant-campylobacter\/","url_meta":{"origin":846,"position":3},"title":"An Inconvenient Truth: Ciprofloxacin-Resistant Campylobacter","author":"Harald","date":"April 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When Al Gore became a best-selling author with \u201cAn Inconvenient Truth\u201d he warned about climate change.\u00a0 When it comes to antibiotic resistance and the current situation of \u201cBad Bugs, No Drugs\u201d, there are many voices warning us about a return to the pre-antibiotic era. 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