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More Bayer Dangers
by Doug Collins
The Free Press has provided ongoing coverage of the practices of theGerman-based Bayer corporation. Below are a couple recentdevelopments.
Drug-resistant food poisonings may be on the increase due to anantibiotic widely used to treat respiratory problems in factory-farmedchickens. Poultry intended for slaughter are widely treated with theantibiotic Baytril, produced by the Bayer corporation. Critics ofBaytril, including officials at the US Centers for Disease Control(CDC) and the FDA, contend that the wide use of Baytril in chickens iscreating antibiotic resistance in strains of the Campylobacterbacteria, the most common source of food poisoning in the US, causingan estimated 2.4 million cases and 13,000 hospitalizations per year.
The latest CDC statistics show a marked increase in the number ofcases that are untreatable by human antibiotics like Cipro (alsomanufactured by Bayer), which closely resemble Baytril. The FDA hasrecommended withdrawing approval for the use of Baytril. A hearing isscheduled for April in which Bayer is expected to appeal (PittsburghPost-Gazette 11-20-02 "Drug for chickens blamed for harder-to-treatfood poisonings")
In other Bayer-related news, Reuters reported recently that Bayer isunder antitrust investigation in both the EU and the US. Raids onBayer offices were conducted in Europe last September. The EuropeanCommission said the raids were conducted to "ascertain whether thereis evidence of a cartel agreement and related illegal practicesconcerning price fixing for rubber chemicals." The CromptonCorporation in the US is under investigation for allegations ofsimilar price-fixing schemes.
