Flouroquinolones (Baytril)

By Becky Salinger

A word about why Baytril (enrofloxacin) and all other flouroquinolones are banned for use in poultry in the US.

It is illegal for any veterinarian to prescribe any flouroquinolone for any chicken, duck etc. Yes it works, yes it sucks- but it’s for the greater good. Sadly or surprisingly a lot of vets do not know why Baytril is banned bc they are not involved in food animal medicine. It’s been banned for 10 years.

All poultry(chickens,pheasants, ducks, turkeys) and pigeons are considered livestock and food animals by the US government. In the eyes of the government there is no such thing as a pet chicken ( not that I agree, but that is the legal standing of chickens in this country).

The baytril ban has nothing to do with eating said bird or their eggs, it has to do with Campylobacter.
Chickens carry campylobacter in their guts- they usually do not get sick from it. They can shed it and look totally healthy.

Campylobacter causes food poisoning, we treat it with Ciprofloxacin ( basically baytril’s sister).

Some people, especially those with compromised immune systems- young/old/chemo/organ transplant/hiv/ people with autoimmune diseases who take things like steroids to control their symptoms ( lupus, RA)=== A LOT of people! Can die from Campylobacter.(even healthy people can if the infection is not controlled) Thank goodness we have ciprofloxacin!

Scientific evidence has shown that using enrofloxacin in poultry can create campylobacter that is resistant to Ciprofloxacin. Which is very bad!

So Not using baytril in poultry has nothing to do with eating the birds, or eggs and everything to do with protecting people from a drug resistant bacteria that is very very very common.

Reference: Withdrawal of Enrofloxacin for Poultry