Government links antibiotic to severe illness in newborns (AP). In a report that shocked pediatricians, the government said a common antibiotic used to treat whooping cough in newborns caused serious stomach problems in babies at a Tennessee hospital.
Doctors said the report from the Center for Disease and Prevention is the first time that erythromycin has been strongly linked to pyloric stenosis, an illness among newborns that blocks digestion and causes projectile vomiting. The illness must be treated with surgery.
"Wow!" said Dr. William Kanto, director of the children's hospital at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. "I thipk it's going to make everybody pause whenever they decide to give erythromycin to a newborn. The CDC said doctors and parents need to be aware of the potentially serious side effect of the antibiotic.
But the agency said that doesn't mean doctors should stop prescribing it for whooping cough, which puts most infected babies in the hospital and can be fatal. Newborns are sometimes also given erythromycin to treat chlamydia infections transmitted from their mothers during birth.
An eye ointment to prevent blinding gonorrhea infections also contains the antibiotic.
Dr. Warner responds: Here is another reason to check all newborns for vertebral subluxation.
Report raises conccerns of human harm from antibiotics-fed - chickens (AP). A governmen report suggests up to 5,000 Americans might have suffered longer lasting food poisoning last year because they caught an antibiotic-resistant strain from eating chicken.
The report, being debated at an FDA meeting with food safety and veterinary experts, is the first attempt to predict human health risk if antibiotic use in animals lets drug-resistant germs wind up in the meat people eat.
Many public health experts say on the farm drugs'worsen the already serious problem of antibiotics losing their power to fight infections. But the animal drug industry insists there is no serious risk to consumers.
Dr. Warner responds: The problems with antibiotics used in raising animals for food is enormous and it will be many years before we can even measure the devastating effects on humans and our planet.