Sen Booker takes aim at proposed FDA guidance on agricultural antibiotics

News brief

US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that highlights concerns about revisions to FDA guidance on duration limits for antibiotic use in farm animals.

Booker is concerned about revisions to Guidance for Industry #152 (GFI#152) and draft Guidance for Industry #273 (draft GFI#273), which would eliminate a 21-day limit for medically important antimicrobials and instead allow the duration of use to be set on a case-by-case basis. Booker said that policy would contribute to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

'Breeding ground for AMR'

"A primary driver of the spread of antibiotic resistance is the misuse of antibiotics in industrial animal agriculture," Booker wrote in the letter. "Concentrated animal feeding operations create a breeding ground for AMR, due to their crowded conditions and the overreliance on antibiotics to keep animals healthy in an unsanitary and disease-promoting environment.”

A primary driver of the spread of antibiotic resistance is the misuse of antibiotics in industrial animal agriculture.

Booker requested answers to six questions from the FDA by September 1, 2024, on its efforts to manage the growing crisis of AMR.

In his final question, Booker asked, "What is the FDA doing to measure its progress on combating antibiotic resistance? Has the FDA adopted any indicators of success such as a [sic] reductions in antibiotic use by livestock sectors and reductions in antibiotic resistance in food animal isolates?"

More H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry

News brief

Lisa Schnirring

commercial cattle — *Compassion in World Farming / Flickr cc*

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) added 6 more dairy herds to its list of confirmed H5N1 avian flu outbreaks, bringing the national total since the end of March to 152.

Five of the latest confirmations were from Colorado and one was from Minnesota, which state officials had announced earlier.

Meanwhile, APHIS reported three more H5N1 outbreaks in poultry, all involving commercial turkey farms in west central Minnesota. Two are breeding farms in Kandiyohi County, one housing 4,300 toms and the other 21,900 hens. The third is a breeding facility in neighboring Renville County that has 15,400 birds.

Michigan confirms sixth measles case of the year

News brief

Lisa Schnirring

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today reported the state's sixth measles case of the year, which involves a child from Macomb County whose illness was diagnosed on July 3.

boy with measles — *Povorozniuk Liudmyla/iStock*

In a statement, the MDHHS said an investigation is still under way into the source of the child's infection and that no known international travel is linked to the case.

After a spike in cases earlier this year, much of it linked to a Chicago migrant shelter, states continue to report sporadic cases, including recently. New Hampshire recently reported a cluster of three cases, and health officials in Seattle and Ohio are also investigating cases, which were linked to international travel.

CDC update notes 167 measles cases

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned about possible travel-related measles cases amid a global rise in cases. US cases this year have far outpaced the 58 measles illnesses reported in 2023.

In its latest update yesterday, the CDC said that, as of July 11, 167 cases have been reported from 24 jurisdictions. There have been 13 outbreaks involving 110 cases, or about two thirds of the total. Among the confirmed case-patients, 84% were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status, and 53% were hospitalized for measles complications.

Seven countries report more polio cases, including wild-type in Afghanistan

News brief

Lisa Schnirring

Three more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported from Afghanistan, all in Kandahar, raising the country's total for the year to nine, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in its latest weekly update. The new cases put the country over its total for 2023, which was six.

doctor evaluating AFP — UK DFID/WHO Afghanistan/Flickr cc

Afghanistan is among the few countries where WPV1 is still endemic. Last week Pakistan, which also continues to battle the virus, reported more cases, also topping its number for the previous year. The country reported eight new WPV1 environmental detections this week.

More vaccine-derived cases in Africa, Yemen

Elsewhere, six countries—mostly in Africa—reported more polio cases involving two different vaccine-derived types. Angola reported two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases in two provinces, bringing its total for the year to five.

Chad reported one more case, lifting its total for 2024 to five. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported two more cVDPV2 cases, as well as its fifth infection involving circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1).

Guinea reported its fourth cVDPV2 case of the year, and Mozambique reported its first cVDPV1 case of 2024. In the Middle East, Yemen reported 6 more cVDPV2 cases, 5 in Alhudaidah and 1 in Saadah, boosting its total to 21.