A growing number of women have reported they’ve become sick after drinking breast milk containing the powerful antibiotics that can be linked to antibiotic-resistant infections, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
In some cases, the symptoms include a fever, cough, runny nose, diarrhea and weight loss, while in others they can lead to serious health problems, such as anaphylaxis, which can result in death.
According to the FDA, between December 2017 and September 2018, more than 2,000 people reported becoming ill after drinking a breast milk that contained the antibiotics cefuroxime (Cefa), ceftriaxone (Cefta) and carbapenem (Cephalon).
A number of reports from people who had already become ill in the US, including in California, showed that people who drank breast milk with Cefa and Cefta had similar symptoms, and the FDA has since started testing and testing-takers in California.
The FDA said it is also testing and taking action against those companies who have contaminated their products with the deadly antibiotic-producing drug.
“The FDA has begun taking steps to identify the companies responsible for contaminated breast milk, including removing them from the market and requiring them to cease using antibiotics,” the FDA said in a statement.
“This will require the companies to stop using these antibiotics within 24 hours of FDA notification to stop manufacturing,” the agency added.
The agency also said it would “conduct more robust testing” of people who were exposed to contaminated milk.
“It’s important that we understand how this situation can happen, because we’re all vulnerable,” said US Consumer Affairs Commissioner Nancy Grace.
The US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has also launched a multi-agency investigation into the situation.
“We’re concerned about the risk to consumers and to the public that are exposed to these dangerous antibiotics,” said FSFIS Commissioner Michael Smith.
“If there’s a risk of harm, we want to make sure that there’s an appropriate response, and we’re working with the FDA to get to the bottom of this,” he added.
In March, the FDA announced it had taken action against the makers of Cefas, Ceftas and other antibiotics in the products of a US company after it was reported that some of its products were contaminated with the antibiotic.
“These companies have agreed to voluntarily stop using antibiotics that are contaminated with Cephalorrhoea, E.coli and Pseudomonas species, and to stop making these antibiotics from now on,” the Food and Chemical Toxicology Agency (FCTA) said in March.
“They will not be re-marketed or licensed in the United States.”
“The FCTA has asked manufacturers to remove the Cefarix and Cefts and to replace them with a non-antibiotic formulation,” the FCTS added.FCTS also said that the FDA would take action against companies that were distributing these drugs, and also take action with other companies.
“While the FDA continues to evaluate the situation, the agency has made clear that the safety and efficacy of these antibiotics must be monitored and taken seriously,” the regulator said.
“In addition, the FCA has taken enforcement action against these companies, and is taking action to ensure that they do not continue to sell these antibiotics to consumers.”
The FSFSA said the agency will also investigate whether the use of Cephalin and Cefalcim to treat women with Crohn’s disease was “a significant risk to the safety of the public”.
“We are also concerned about concerns that a limited number of antibiotics have been distributed through the mail in an unsupervised way and that there is no system in place to verify the identity of the manufacturer of the antibiotic,” the statement said.
In a statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said it was “disappointed” by the FDA’s actions and that it hoped the FDA “would take immediate action to address the potential safety risks to the American public”.
But the AAP said it also had concerns about the potential risks to other populations.
“When antibiotic resistance occurs, antibiotics are sometimes given to patients who are not at risk for developing infections,” the AAP stated.
“Additionally, when people who are at risk become resistant, the antibiotics are given to people who have already become resistant.”
Therefore, in order to protect people who already have antibiotics, we must ensure that we know who is at risk of developing resistance and that we are able to control these risks.””
This is a situation that the AAP calls a ‘public health emergency’ and that the American people must be prepared to respond to,” the organization said.
The AHA, a trade association representing American consumers, has called on the FDA and the Food Safety Authority of India (FSIA) to “take all necessary steps to ensure the safety” of the population.
