Should antibiotics be used to prevent disease in poultry?

Using antibiotics to prevent – not just treat or control – certain diseases of poultry is a sensible, responsible and ethical practice, according to three veterinarians featured on an industry panel discussion. “I think this disease prevention claim, it’s critical that we maintain it – especially when we’re talking about having veterinary oversight,” said Randy Singer of the University of Minnesota. “The veterinarian understands the disease process, knows when this population of animals is likely to break with a specific disease.”William Flynn of FDA added, “I think there may be some misconceptions when we talk about disease prevention – that…drugs and antibiotics are being put in feeds…to prevent whatever disease comes along. That’s not at all what we’re talking about here. We wouldn’t consider that being a judicious use of the drug.”  Read More