American College of Preventive Medicine – Policy Resolution # 05-02(A)

TITLE: Principles for Combating Antibiotic Resistance

AUTHOR: Cindy L. Parker, MD, MPH (Active Resident Member)

RESOLVED, that ACPM endorse the Seven Principles for Combating Antibiotic Resistance adopted by APHA:

1. Support efforts to curb the growing public health threat of antibiotic resistance by reducing the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in both agriculture and human medicine.
2. Support phasing out the use in healthy farm animals of antibiotics used in human medicine or closely related to human drugs.
3. Support efforts to promote sustainable agricultural production methods that provide alternatives to the use of antibiotics in healthy farm animals.
4. Urge companies involved in the production of meat, poultry and fish to voluntarily agree to stop using nontherapeutic antibiotics (i.e., those used for purposes other than treating sick animals), and we urge companies and individuals that purchase meat, poultry and fish products to seek products that have been produced without nontherapeutic antibiotics.
5. Support efforts to educate patients and doctors about the prudent use of antibiotics, including the importance of prescribing them only for bacterial infections and of taking the entire course of the drug.
6. Support the creation of a nationwide system to collect objective, verifiable data on production of antibiotics for use in human medicine, animal agriculture, and other sectors as relevant, and to make that information available to the public on an aggregated basis.
7. Affirm the importance of ongoing collection of data at the state and federal levels on antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance, including antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria both on food and in surface and ground waters.