n intravenous drug user. Even amongst this population, there must be some people who will follow a prescribed drug regimen. If the criteria for physicians is that denying the few will benefit the many, there is some justification for this course of action as a societal prerogative.Many of the same drugs prescribed for human therapy are widely used in animal husbandry and agriculture. More than 40% of the antibiotics manufactured in the U.S. are given to animals (3). Although some of that amount is used to treat or prevent infection, most is mixed with feed to promote weight gain and growth. In this use, amounts of antibiotics too small to combat infections are delivered over long periods of time. Long-term exposure to low doses of antibiotics is the perfect formula for selecting bacteria for drug resistance. The animals then pass these resistant microbes to caretakers and people who prepare and consume undercooked meat. On the other hand, if the use of antibiotics in animal feed were curtailed then the cost of meat would inevitably rise. In my opinion, the rise of the price of meat does not concern me as much as the exposure, of any segment of the population, to resistant strains of bacteria. In the case of the weight of animals, regulators should give more weight to public health. Telling people how long and at what temperature to cook meat is just not enough. There must be some regulation as to the use of antibiotics as a product enhancer.As most people know, it normally costs pharmaceutical companies a huge amount of money to develop and bring a new drug to the market. The only way to recoup this investment is the widespread prescription and subsequent use of these drugs. This is just the scenario that leads to overuse and the eventual obsolescence of this very same drug. Furthermore, many of the same drugs are available over-the-counter in developing and third world countries, making them even more accessible and subs...
