STAT+: Amid fears of superbugs, sales of antibiotics used in food-producing livestock barely declined last year
Amid fears of superbugs, the sale of medically important antibiotics given to food-producing livestock declined by less than 1% overall in the U.S. in 2021, a small change that prompted advocates to complain that not enough is being done to thwart antibiotic resistance.
In particular, the sale and distribution of tetracycline, which accounted for 65% of the medically important antibiotics, fell by only 1%, according to the latest annual report from the Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, the sale and distribution of macrolides, which represented 9% of overall domestic sales of such medicines, rose by 21%.
