Sales of antimicrobials inch lower

The United States Food and Drug Administration reports that sales of antimicrobials for farming use declined by three per cent last year.

That builds on a trend that has seen sales decline by 38 per cent since 2015.

It is what the government wants to happen because of concerns that widespread use of antimicrobials – and in particular antibiotics – increases the risk that diseases with immunity to antimicrobials will multiply and spread.

That means that doctors lose a means to help humans who contract diseases that are resistant to antimicrobials.