A SPOKESWOMAN for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has confirmed there are no plans to ban the use of cephalosporins in the wake of a US decision to do so.
The decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to ban cephalosporins - a class of antibiotics commonly used to treat pneumonia, strep throat, and urinary and skin infections in humans - came in the wake of renewed fears that bacteria in humans are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
The APVMA spokeswoman said the use of cephalosporins in Australia was subject to strict regulations.
She said veterinarians were allowed to use cephalosporins on a case-by-case basis and not as a preventive measure, as was the case in the United States until recently.
''Given that Australian registration of cephalosporin antibiotics requires veterinarians to use these products based on an individual animal need, coupled with the strong self-regulatory approach taken by industry, there is not a direct parallel with the [FDA] situation,'' she said.
''[The authority] monitors international developments relating to the registration and use of agvet chemicals as part of its operating processes and we are aware of the FDA ruling.''
The APVMA regularly monitored, through the Department of Health and Ageing, the level of residue relating to a wide range of chemicals in the Australian food supply and industry, including that of veterinary-grade antibiotics.
An Australian government taskforce set up in 1999 reported there was scientific evidence to prove a link between the use of antibiotics in livestock bred for human consumption, and a surge in cases of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans.
The government taskforce made recommendations - which were subsequently adopted - that the livestock and veterinary industry adopt a conservative approach to minimise the use of antibiotics in humans and animals.
Infectious diseases physician and microbiologist, Professor Peter Collignon, has repeatedly called for further limits on antibiotic use in people and in food-production animals, and says data collection on resistant bacteria needs to be upgraded.
''[Bacteria such as] multi-resistant staphylococcus, have clearly moved into the community … and if we are serious about these infections we have to make them notifiable," he said.
From April, federal regulators in the US will ban the use of cephalosporins in cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys in all instances unless it is directly proved there is a risk to an entire operation or in the case of an outbreak of disease.
