Moms for Antibiotic Awareness January Newsletter (2012)

The January, 2012 newsletter for the Moms for Antibiotic Awareness campaign includes the latest news on a new FDA measure, a new story about Ruby, a baby affected by foodborne illness, and an update on our growing group of 23,000 supportive moms.

FDA Takes Measures to Preserve Affectiveness of Cephalosporins

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an updated rule that will limit the uses of cephalosporins in food animal production. This restriction is a victory for human health as it will help ensure this critically important class of antibiotics will continue to work to treat life-threatening infections today and in the future. Click for the press release with more information on the new cephalosporin rule.

If you have not done so already, please take a moment and tell the FDA to finalize the cephalosporin rule to keep these critical drugs protected from overuse and misuse on industrial farms.

Ruby's Story: A Family Affected by Foodborne Illness

Normally an active and happy baby, Ruby started to show signs of illness, including a fever, little interest in eating, lethargy, and constant diarrhea. After several visits to doctors' offices and no sign of improvement, urinalysis and blood tests were ordered. The next day, Ruby's mom answered a phone call, and the nurse on the other end said, “Get Ruby to the hospital now! She has bacteria in her blood and needs antibiotics … Take her there immediately!”

It turns out Ruby had acquired a strain of Salmonella Heidelberg from eating ground turkey. The strain was resistant to several antibiotics.  Luckily, her doctor chose to treat her with an appropriate cephalosporin. Had the strain Ruby acquired been resistant to this medication, her story might be one of death rather than survival.

Read Ruby's full story as told from her mother's point of view.

Note: This story was shared on behalf of STOP Foodborne Illness, one of our campaign collaborators.

Our Supporters Continue to Grow

Since our launch in May 2011, more than 23,000 mothers, fathers, grandparents, and others concerned about their family's health, joined Moms for Antibiotic Awareness. More than 21,200 supporters like us on Facebook and another 20,500 follow us on Twitter.

Thanks so much for your support and please continue to spread the word to your networks!

If you are a blogger and need more information on the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming and our Moms for Antibiotic Awareness project, please contact Josh Wenderoff.

Full Newsletter