Save the Cows!

Cefquinome is a new injectable aminothiazolyl cephalosporin derivative. It is effective against a broad range of bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Now, against expert advice, the FDA is going to approve the use of this drug to treat cattle.

The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency's own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people.

The drug, called cefquinome, belongs to a class of highly potent antibiotics that are among medicine's last defenses against several serious human infections. No drug from that class has been approved in the United States for use in animals.

So what's the problem? Two words, antibiotic resistance.

"If a drug is used less, then less resistance emerges," said Patricia Griffin, chief of intestinal disease epidemiology for the CDC.

Read the entire article for the pro's and con's concerning approving the use of this drug in cattle.

UPDATE: Read editorial in NYT.