Is Oregon set to follow California’s lead as US states pass antibiotic-use laws?

By Aerin Einstein-Curtis

- Last updated on GMT

Is Oregon set to follow California’s lead as US states pass antibiotic-use laws?

Related tags Medically important antibiotics

After the passage of California’s state-level antibiotic use legislation in the US, similar action could occur in Oregon, state activists say.

Oregon, California’s neighbor to the north, had two bills on agricultural antibiotic use brought during the past legislative session, House Bill 2598 and Senate Bill 920, said Jenny Dresler, director of state public policy with the Oregon Farm Bureau.

Although neither bill was adopted, it is anticipated that similar legislation will return in future legislative sessions, she said.

“We’re anticipating it coming back,” ​she told FeedNavigator. “We’re working with legislators, and partners, and trying to engage people on the use of antibiotics in Oregon, and trying to create a uniform regulatory structure.”

The Oregon Farm Bureau did not support the past bills because they created conflicting definitions for preventative and federal usage requirements, and had short implementation times, said Dresler. “It creates a confusing regulatory scheme,”​ she added.

Efforts made by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Veterinary Feed Directive are already making changes to antibiotic usage, she said. Updated drug labels carry the weight of law, said Dresler.

Additionally, the bills sought to collect and publicly post information about antibiotic use by larger farms, she said.

One of the misconceptions that people may have about farm use of antibiotics is thinking about the animals individually, she said. “You’re treating a herd so the sickness doesn’t run rampant – you’re not treating individuals, you’re treating a disease as it runs through a population,” ​she added.

Past bill details

Both usage bills sought to end the non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics in animals raised for human consumption, state legislators said in the bills. The bills took the list of important drugs from the World Health Organization (WHO) and State Department of Agriculture.

The bills allowed use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes if the there was a risk of disease or infection on the farm; if antibiotics were needed to prevent the spread of a disease; if antibiotics were used for the least amount of time needed for treatment and if they were used in the smallest number of animals. 

They also stressed both the need to allow antibiotic treatment of sick animals and to maintain the effective use of antibiotics in the future, officials said.

An additional section of the bills required that producers who operate concentrated animal feeding operations, as defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would have to report annually to the State Department of Agriculture or Oregon Health Authority regarding the number and species of animals given medically important antibiotics along with treatment details including the types, amounts duration, and methods used, officials said. Producers also would have to specify if the drugs were being used for prevention, control or treatment.

Antibiotic use discussion

The discussion regarding use of antibiotics is ongoing in the state, said David Rosenfeld, executive director of Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG), one of the groups that pushed for the legislation.

He said that he hopes to see it return to the state legislature, but that it will be up to lawmakers. “The conversation is already happening, and I don’t see any way it doesn’t increase in prevalence,”​ he added.

The goal with state-level legislation would be to limit the other areas where antibiotics could be overused, including for routine sub-therapeutic use, he said. But the group does not want to end all use of antibiotics.

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