Thanks to guests for their expertise on this important topic.  But, the overuse of important human antibiotics in livestock and poultry production may be a larger problem than they realize.  An estimated 50-70% of all antibiotics used in the U.S. are used subtherapeutically in animal agriculture—not to treat disease but to promote growth or feed efficiency or prevent disease from the overcrowed conditions in which livestock are raised today. The recent study in Midwest by Tara Smith and colleagues found MRSA in 49% of swine and 45% of swine workers in one large swine feeding operation.  Clearly we can no longer tolerate this gross misuse of these important community resources.  Representatives Dennis Kucinich and Mary Jo Kilroy are cosponsoring a bill (endorsed by the AMA and IDSA) to phase out the use of critical human antibiotics in livestock production. Ask your representatives to join them in supporting the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.