Use of Modified Cipro in Chickens: Another Threat to Public Health

Posted: 26-Oct-2001; Updated: 11-Feb-2002

With new cases of anthrax emerging in quick succession in recent days and three people dying of inhalation anthrax, there is mounting anxiety about this serious public health threat, and whether enough Cipro (or cipofloxacin), an antibiotic used to treat anthrax, will be available for everyone who may need it.

But worrisome too is the fact that a close relative of Cipro, also manufactured by Bayer, is used to treat sick chickens. This chemical variant, called enrofloxacin, is largely metabolized into cipofloxacin when consumed by chickens. So what does this mean for humans? Cipro is not only used for treating anthrax but also an array of other ailments. For example, Cipro is the drug of choice in treating severe food poisoning. But in the six years since enrofloxacin was approved for use in poultry, resistance to Cipro and related drugs in Campylobacter ? the most common cause of severe food poisoning ? has jumped markedly.

To ensure that doctors still have a potent weapon against serious food-borne illnesses, Environmental Defense and numerous other health and public interest groups have repeatedly asked Bayer to comply with the FDA's recent proposal to ban the use of Bayer's enrofloxacin for use in poultry ? but to no avail. Says Environmental Defense senior scientist Dr. Rebecca Goldburg, "At a time when everyone is more aware than ever of the need for strong, effective antibiotics, it is vital that the usefulness of these life-saving drugs be maintained for people, and not squandered on chickens and turkeys destined for slaughter."