Steer clear of these pet meds, FDA warns. These unapproved items could harm human health.

Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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The Food and Drug Administration is cautioning nine makers and distributors of drugs aimed at preventing infectious diseases in pets that their antimicrobial treatments could create resistance to medications necessary for treating infectious disease in humans.

The agency said the products have antimicrobials important to human health. Using the drugs could contribute to resistance that allows microbes like bacteria to become resistant to the drugs designed to kill them, the FDA said in a news release.

“These unapproved animal drugs pose a two-fold risk to public health,” Tracey Forfa, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement. “First, these products haven’t been through the FDA drug review process, and we don’t know whether they’re safe or effective, or even contain what the label states. Second, inappropriate use of medically important antimicrobials contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which affects both human and animal health.”

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The FDA issued the letters to these companies:

  • American Aquarium Products

  • Aquanest Biotic

  • Aquarium Pharmacy LLC

  • California Veterinary Supply

  • Chewy Inc.

  • Kraft Drug

  • Midland Veterinary Services LLC

  • Silver Lease LLC

  • Valley Veterinary Clinic LTD

Animal drugs made or distributed by these companies contained antimicrobials important for human medicine such as amoxicillin, penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin, the FDA said. The products have been illegally sold over the counter, even though approved animal drugs containing these antimicrobials are only legally available by prescription from a licensed veterinarian.

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The FDA also noted that the use of unapproved animal drugs in humans is dangerous because these products haven’t been evaluated by federal regulators. Animal drugs are not identical to those used in people.

People who are using or administering these drugs dispose of the products, the FDA said. Pet owners should contact a licensed veterinarian, and contact a licensed health care provider, for an accurate diagnosis and treatment.

The FDA encouraged people to report adverse human and animal harms associated with the products here: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/report-problem/how-report-animal-drug-and-device-side-effects-and-product-problems.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEO: These pet medications are harmful to human health