SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California has adopted the toughest limits in the nation on the use of antibiotics in healthy livestock, barring their routine use to prevent illness or promote growth.
Calling the overuse of antibiotics “an urgent public health problem,” Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday that he signed the legislation. The bill, SB 27, will curb the overuse of antibiotics in livestock, which limits the effectiveness of the medicines in both animals and people and contributes to the spread of dangerous, drug-resistant superbugs.
“The science is clear that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock has contributed to the spread of antibiotic resistance and the undermining of decades of life-saving advances in medicine,” Brown said in a statement.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls antibiotic resistance one of the world’s most pressing health problems and estimates that 23,000 Americans die annually as a result of antibiotic-resistant infections.
The agency has recommended phasing out their use in cases solely to promote growth in livestock. In low doses, some antibiotics can generate greater muscle development by boosting the efficiency of food that animals eat.