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Restricted Use of Antibiotics in Agriculture
Although the efforts of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics and senators who are seeking to restrict the use of antibiotics in agriculture are appreciated, provisions in the Senate bill (ASM News, July 2002, p. 316) that recommend phasing out nontherapeutic uses of such drugs in farm animals are not enough to achieve the objective. In my opinion, it is also critical to control the shelf life of animal feed. Storage for long periods can increase the chance that antibiotic-producing organisms within the feed will grow and shed antibiotics. Shorter shelf life and other preventive measures will deter the growth of any fungi and filamentous bacteria such as Streptomyces that may be contained in such feeds, and studies from many years ago indicate that Streptomyces aurofaciens has growth-promoting effects in chickens (J. Biol. Chem, 180:647, 1949). Recently, I verified statements by several feed-mill owners in India that use of feed without antibiotics is equally potent in promoting the growth of broilers when compared to antibiotic-containing feeds from the United States. While feed formulations do not differ markedly, the major difference in performance appears to be due to shelf life.
Sunil Palchaudhuri
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Detroit, Mich.
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