A long-simmering debate over the use of antibiotics in farm animals is heating up as a result of new concerns about anthrax and other potential forms of bioterrorism in the U.S.
As reported in this month's Regulatory Watch column (see page 24), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer A.G. to remove the animal antibiotic Baytril from the market on the grounds that it eventually may compromise the ability of Cipro, a sister antibiotic, to fight anthrax in people.