As part of its effort to fight antibiotic resistance, the Obama Administration convened the White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship, bringing together various stakeholders to develop, promote and implement activities for ensuring responsible antibiotic use.
Over 150 companies and organizations joined the forum to commit their participation in implementing changes over the course of the next five years to reduce the number of resistant bacteria and to prevent resistant infections from spreading. President Barack Obama also signed a memorandum directing federal agencies and departments to create a preference for poultry and meat products made following responsible use of antibiotics.
These will be complemented by the Presidential Food Service's decision to serve only poultry and meats not treated with antibiotics or hormones as well as the Food and Drug Administration's announcement of finalized changes to regulation on the Veterinary Feed Directive, an important part of the agency's general strategy for promoting the proper use of antibiotics in food-producing animals.
The White House Forum builds on efforts the Administration had employed in the past to deal with antibiotic resistance, like Executive Order 13676, the National Strategy on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, the report released by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around two million diseases are caused by drug-resistant bacteria. Improper use of antibiotics also results in around 23,000 deaths every year in the U.S. alone.
Some of the companies and organizations that have pledged their support for the White House's crusade against the overuse of antibiotics include: Abbott/Ibis Biosciences, AstraZeneca, the Banfield Pet Hospital, Cargill, CVS Health/Minute Clinic, Elanco Animal Health, Farm Foundation, Foster Farms, Galderma Laboratories, Hospital Corporation of America, IMS Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, McDonald's, Merck/Cubist, NACDS Foundation, North American Meat Institute, OpGen, Panera Bread, Reckitt-Benckiser, Safe Care Campaign, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, University of Pennsylvania Health System, VCA Pet Hospitals, Walgreens/Take Care Clinics and Zoetis.
The private sector's participation in the government's effort to curb antibiotic overuse is important because of its wide reach, allowing the Obama Administration's work in preventing, identifying and responding to antibiotic resistance to take root and flourish. Formal and informal commitments have been made by companies and organizations, but all are steps in the right direction toward better dealing with antibiotic overuse in the U.S.
Photo: Oliver Dodd | Flickr
