Food for Thought on Antibiotics in Meat

As a physician, I was greatly interested by your article about the outbreak of a strain of Group A streptococcus that is resistant to macrolide antibiotics--key drugs that are used to treat not only strep throat but also pneumonia and other serious infections (“Resistant Strep Sounds a Warning,” April 22).

While the story noted that this outbreak has major implications for the way doctors think about and prescribe antibiotics in this country, it should also have major implications for the continued use of antibiotics in meat production.

DR. JOHN M. BALBUS

Director

Environmental Health Program

Environmental Defense