Antibiotics

WASHINGTON - Federal drug regulators announced yesterday that farmers and ranchers must restrict use of a critical class of antibiotics in cattle, pigs, chickens, and turkeys because such practices may have contributed to the growing threat of bacterial human infections that are resistant to treatment. The medicines belong to a class of antibiotics known as cephalosporins and include such brands as Cefzil and Keflex. They are among the most common antibiotics prescribed to treat strep throat, bronchitis, skin infections, and urinary tract infections.

U.S. regulators have approved use of a powerful Johnson & Johnson antibiotic to treat plague, an extremely rare, sometimes-deadly bacterial infection. The Food and Drug Administration also approved Levaquin, known generically as levofloxacin, to reduce risk of people getting plague after exposure to the bacteria that cause it. Called Yersinia pestis, the bacteria are considered a potential bioterrorism agent. Plague mainly occurs in animals. People can get it from bites from infected fleas or contact with infected animals or humans.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration, responding to public health concerns, is urging meat producers to limit the amount of antibiotics they give animals. The FDA said antibiotics in meat pose a “serious public health threat’’ because the drugs create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect humans who eat it. The agency is recommending that producers limit their use unless they are medically necessary and use them only with the oversight of a veterinarian.

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration finalized a plan on Wednesday that would ask drug companies to voluntarily limit the use of certain antibiotics in animal feed, citing long-held concerns that their overuse in livestock promotes the development of drug-resistant bacteria that can infect people. Many antibiotics that are widely used to treat human illnesses, such as penicillin, are mixed with animal feed in part to promote rapid growth and weight gain in farm animals.

WASHINGTON - A federal court ordered the FDA on Thursday to follow through on a 35-year-old proposal that would have banned the use of certain antibiotics in animal feed because the agency was concerned that these drugs were overused in livestock and helped develop drug-resistant bacteria that can infect people. The concern is that some antibiotics given to treat illnesses in people are widely used on animals to promote disease prevention and weight gain, as well as compensate for crowded conditions on ranches and farms.

The World Health Organization on Friday cautioned people against taking antibiotics if they fall ill from the E. coli outbreak that began in Germany last month. The U.N. health agency said it supports existing recommendations to avoid antibiotics because it could worsen the condition. Anti-diarrhea medication also should be avoided because it stops the bacteria from quickly leaving the body, WHO epidemiologist Andrea Ellis told reporters in Geneva. Some German doctors have recommended that certain patients should be treated with antibiotics.

Tom Brady returned to Boston recently for a checkup on his surgically repaired left knee by team doctors, according to NFL sources. Those same sources also confirmed that the Patriots quarterback suffered a postoperative staph infection and remains on antibiotics. Staph is the most common kind of postoperative infection. In all likelihood, the patella tendon graft inserted to replace his torn ACL during surgery Oct. 6 will be kept, and not replaced in a second operation. But in cases involving a septic joint, doctors wait until the patient finishes the antibiotics treatment to see if...

ATLANTA -- A deadly bacterial illness that is often seen in people on antibiotics appears to be growing more common, even in patients who are not taking such drugs, federal health officials said yesterday. The bacteria are Clostridium difficile. The germ is becoming a menace in hospitals and nursing homes, and last year it was linked to 100 deaths over 18 months at a hospital in Quebec. Recent cases in four states have found that infection is appearing more often in healthy people who have not been admitted to healthcare facilities nor even...

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Jasper Herbert Kane, a biochemist who suggested that antibiotics could be manufactured in mass quantities rather than dose-by-dose in a laboratory, has died. He was 101. Mr. Kane died Tuesday in Boca Raton, according to his alma mater, Polytechnic University in New York City. Mr. Kane began working as an assistant at the Chas. Pfizer & Co. chemical manufacturing plant in Brooklyn, N.Y., as a teenager. He studied nights at the Polytechnic Institute and graduated in 1928.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Friday officially opened its expanded research and development facility at its Lexington headquarters. The 104,000-square-foot expansion includes state-of-the-art laboratory space for R&D around antibiotics and other acute care products, a molecular modeling room, and office space, Cubist said. Cubist makes the injectable antibiotic daptomycin, which it markets under the brand name Cubicin. Cubicin treats skin and bloodstream infections. The company had revenue of $754 million last year.

Nine medical specialty groups released a report today listing 45 tests or treatments they say are unnecessary. Many are commonly used though research shows they are ineffective, costly, or have the potential to do harm, exposing patients to invasive procedures, radiation or medication without good reason or leading to more unnecessary medical care. Liz Kowalczyk wrote about the campaign, called Choosing Wisely and led by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Each specialty came up with a list of five kinds of care that patients and doctors should...

Dennis Seidenberg was in good spirits on Friday at TD Garden before traveling to Long Island. He wasn't as happy the day before. On Thursday, Seidenberg had to miss his first game of the season, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals. A cut he suffered last Saturday in Los Angeles had become infected. Seidenberg is on antibiotics, but could be available on Saturday against the Islanders or Sunday against the Rangers. "He's day-to-day," said coach Claude Julien. "He's feeling good.

Dennis Seidenberg was in good spirits on Friday at TD Garden before traveling to Long Island. He wasn't as happy the day before. On Thursday, Seidenberg had to miss his first game of the season, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals. A cut he suffered last Saturday in Los Angeles had become infected. Seidenberg is on antibiotics, but could be available on Saturday against the Islanders or Sunday against the Rangers. "He's day-to-day," said coach Claude Julien. "He's feeling good.

WASHINGTON - A federal court ordered the FDA on Thursday to follow through on a 35-year-old proposal that would have banned the use of certain antibiotics in animal feed because the agency was concerned that these drugs were overused in livestock and helped develop drug-resistant bacteria that can infect people. The concern is that some antibiotics given to treat illnesses in people are widely used on animals to promote disease prevention and weight gain, as well as compensate for crowded conditions on ranches and farms.

Last month, after reporting on a study showing that antibiotics don't work for most sinus infections, I received several comments from concerned readers who didn't believe the study findings and swore that these drugs have quickly relieved their miserable congestion and sinus pain whenever they have had sinus infections. But the flip side of this is that doctors are over-treating sinus infections -- which are usually caused by viruses -- with antibiotics, and that's leading to an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Friday officially opened its expanded research and development facility at its Lexington headquarters. The 104,000-square-foot expansion includes state-of-the-art laboratory space for R&D around antibiotics and other acute care products, a molecular modeling room, and office space, Cubist said. Cubist makes the injectable antibiotic daptomycin, which it markets under the brand name Cubicin. Cubicin treats skin and bloodstream infections. The company had revenue of $754 million last year.