Antibiotics are a dramatic medical advance too many of us take for granted. Throughout most of human history, pathogens now easily vanquished with a prescription were feared with good reason: their ability to swiftly claim a life or sweep through a community.

Life without these vital drugs is unthinkable, a reality that makes responsible antibiotic stewardship one of the most pressing public health issues of our era. That's why recent steps announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require more judicious use of antibiotics in livestock merit support. That's especially true in Minnesota, where farmers are on the front lines in battling to safeguard these medications.

Just like humans, animals produced for food get sick and need medical care requiring antibiotic treatment. Sometimes these drugs are the same ones used in humans, such as tetracycline. Antibiotics also are often used for growth promotion. Scientists and livestock producers have known for decades that low-level doses of antibiotics, typically given in feed, can cause poultry and other livestock to grow faster, though it's not clear why. Bottom-line minded producers understandably embraced this.

But the ability of bacteria to develop resistance to these drugs makes antibiotics' use in growth promotion problematic. Bacteria resistant from both animal and human overuse leaves people susceptible to pathogens once thought conquered. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2 million people develop antibiotic-resistant infections annually. About 23,000 people die each year. Discovery of new drugs isn't happening fast enough to keep pace.

The new FDA guidelines, in the works since 2013, sensibly enlist the help of veterinarians and target antibiotics that are used in both humans and animals. These medically important drugs will require, beginning in late 2016, a veterinarian's prescription instead of being available over the counter. Nor will these drugs be used for growth promotion.

Influential public health organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts have applauded the new guidelines. Critics also contend with reason that the FDA needs to more robustly collect and analyze usage data to ensure that the new measures are working. If not, further safeguards are needed — quickly. When it comes to protecting these precious medical resources, "The clock is ticking,'' said Pew's Dr. Gail Hansen.