Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK, affecting over 350,000 people a year. Chickens are the source of 50-80% of cases.
A ban would bring the UK into line with the US, where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stopped the use of the antibiotics in poultry in 2005 because of increasing resistance in campylobacter. Denmark, Finland and Australia also do not use fluoroquinolones in poultry.
The need for urgent action is highlighted by a recent EU report which has indicated for the first time the extent of fluoroquinolone use in poultry. It shows that the oral use of these antibiotics accounts for nearly half of their farm use in the UK and over three quarters of it throughout the EU.
Most oral use is in poultry and given as whole-flock medication in drinking water rather than individual-animal treatment, despite the antibiotics being classified as ‘critically important in human medicine’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Source: The Soil Association
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