ABSTRACT
Many sulfonamides and antibiotics have had profound effects and impacts on the life and health of human beings as well as animals. The use of sulfonamides and antibiotics has made it possible to successfully treat and alleviate the effects of many diseases. The presence of antimicrobial residues in milk, dairy products, meat, and meat products, and other products of animal origin poses serious problems to the dairy and meat industry because of the public health implications. Public health concern over different aspects of drug use in veterinary medicine and the presence of drug residues in foods of animal origin has grown rapidly. The administration of sulfonamides, principally sulfamethazine and sulfathiozole, and antibiotics such as tetracyclines, penicillin, virginiamycin, and tylosin, in subtherapeutic doses to livestock through feed and/or water is well described in the literature. These drugs exert then-effects on animals in at least four different ways: direct growth promotion, metabolic activity, nutrient sparing effect, and disease control.
