Antibiotic Peril Seen In Milk

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29829, 23 May 1962, Page 13

Antibiotic Peril Seen In Milk

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) MELBOURNE, May 22An Australian scientist said today dairy farmers were imperilling public health by letting milk become contaminated by antibiotics, especially penicillin.

He was supported by a skin specialist, Dr. R. Rosanove, who claimed that up to 100 per cent, of milk entering Melbourne hospitals was contaminated with penicillin The scientist is Dr. D. Murnane, formerly of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and now on the staff of Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand, Ltd. Dr. Murnane made his attack in a paper presented to the annual conference of the Australian Veterinary Association at Melbourne University. Dr. Murnane was the pioneer in the use of penicillin for the treatment of bovine mastitis in Australia. Today he said: “It is lamentable that a product which has served so well for 20 years is now being abused to the point at which it is rebounding ” He said penicillin was now found "frequently” in milk intended for human consumption. This was due entirely to the failure of some dairy farmers to withhold milk from sale after cows had been treated for mastitis. Dr. Murnane said milk containing penicillin residues

could cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to penicillin and could make other people sensitive. This in turn could be a disadvantage if a doctor wished to use penicillin in treating that person for an infectious disease.