[Plcy] - U.S. Sticks to Ban of Bayer Antibiotic on Poultry

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday rejected a last-ditch request from poultry veterinarians to delay its ban on a livestock antibiotic believed to reduce the effectiveness of similar drugs in humans.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford said the request failed to prove there would be "irreparable harm" if the drug, called Baytril, was banned.

The FDA will withdraw the drug, made by Bayer, on Sept. 12. Earlier this year, it concluded that using the antibiotic in chickens made it difficult for doctors to treat humans with food poisoning.

"Despite your assertion to the contrary, FDA has determined, as the final decision makes clear, that there are real adverse human health effects of (Baytril) use in poultry," Crawford said.

Baytril is one of a family of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones, which physicians consider valuable for treating serious infections in people. The class of drugs includes Cipro, a well-known human antibiotic.

Health officials say widespread use of the drug on livestock can cause other such antibiotics to lose effectiveness when used in humans.

The American Association of Avian Pathologists, the Animal Health Institute and four other groups said banning Baytril would come during the time of the year when poultry ran the greatest risk for developing respiratory illness.

The industry "will suffer irreparable harm because their members will not be able to treat chickens and turkeys in a way that is effective to protect the health of the birds and the human beings who will later consumer those birds," the parties said.

Until Baytril, the government had never withdrawn an antibiotic drug because of concern over its impact on public health.

The industry said removing the drug was an "arbitrary action" because there are no viable alternatives that can be quickly used to protect poultry.

Consumer groups said keeping the drug on the market would only further endanger public health.

"It's just appalling that Bayer is pushing to leave these Cipro-like poultry drugs on the market for several more years, condemning more people to hard-to-treat illnesses," said Karen Florini, senior attorney with Environmental Defense.