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Across the country, the health care community is sharing its voice in support of common sense legislation necessary to protect antibiotic efficacy. Join your colleagues in support of PAMTA, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (S. 619/H.R. 1549). By signing the petition below, your name will be sent to your legislators.

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Dear Senator/Representative ____________:

We, the undersigned nurses, doctors, dietitians and other health practitioners are writing to urge you to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (S. 619/H.R. 1549). We believe that this legislation is necessary to preserve the effectiveness of our existing antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistant bacterial infections are a serious concern for individuals, communities and our health care delivery system. Patients suffer longer illnesses and pay higher medical costs, and health practitioners are left with little means to protect their patients or themselves from bacterial infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 60,000 Americans die annually from resistant infections. The American College of Physicians estimates that $30 billion is spent on the cumulative effects of antimicrobial resistance each year (including multiple drug regimens, extra hospital days, additional medical care and lost productivity).

Despite the rising rates and immense medical costs of antibiotic resistance, antibiotics and related drugs are routinely added to the feed of livestock and poultry not to treat diagnosed disease, but to promote faster growth and compensate for unsanitary living conditions. In 2003, the U.S. Institute of Medicine/ National Academy of Science stated that "substantial efforts must be made to decrease inappropriate overuse [of antibiotics] in animals and agriculture" and that decreasing "antimicrobial use in human medicine alone will have little effect on the current [antibiotic-resistant] situation." Delaying action only exacerbates the problem.

As individuals, we join with the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Nurses Association and many other public health organizations. Please support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act and undertake all measures necessary to ensure its ultimate enactment.

Sincerely,

Note: Your email will not be shared with any other organization.