Victory for the Union of Concerned Scientists

Last week—after several years of pressure from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the coalition group Keep Antibiotics Working (KAW)—the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made history by banning the use of the animal-antibiotic Baytril in poultry due to worries about the increase in antibiotic-resistant infections in people. This action marks the first time the FDA has withdrawn an agricultural antibiotic from the market because of concerns about antibiotic resistance affecting human health. Baytril is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, much like the commonly used human antibiotic Cipro.