Proceed with caution

The US government should monitor the emergence of antibiotic resistance in
farmyard bacteria and its possible transfer to human pathogens, says a panel set
up by the National Research Council in Washington DC. But the panel has stopped
short of recommending a ban on the use of antibiotics to promote livestock
growth, as proposed in Britain by a House of Lords committee
(This Week, 25 April, p 4).
The panel estimates such a ban could cost American consumers
$2.5 billion a year in higher food prices.