May 24, 1999

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine links the use of antibiotics in poultry feed with increased resistance to campylobacter in humans. The Animal Health Institute says the study is based on a "very limited number" of poultry product samples and doesn't identify if the antibiotics in question actually were used in the production of the poultry sampled.

The study from Minnesota researchers links the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry feed with increased resistance to campylobacter in humans. The AHI agreed with "many of the findings," but added the study "fails to make a connection between human sickness and the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry."

Industry surveys and manufacturers' sales data indicate that only 1.5% of chickens are treated with fluoroquinolones, says AHI. The study is "at best a small part of the data gathering effort that should be undertaken to determine if the use of antibiotics in food animals is a threat to human health," said AHI President and CEO Alex Mathews.