The number of U.S. cattle deaths that may be linked to the Merck & Co Inc feed additive Zilmax are much higher than the figures reported by the drug company to the federal government, according to a research study published on Wednesday.
The findings by researchers from Texas Tech University and Kansas State University show that more than 3,800 cattle in 10 feedlots that were fed Zilmax died in 2011 and 2012, with between 40 percent and 50 percent of the deaths likely attributable to Zilmax.
The numbers reported in the study, which was published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, would indicate a larger death toll than Reuters found late last year in a review of all deaths reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by Merck since Zilmax was introduced in 2007. Drug makers are required to report deaths and other adverse events associated with their drugs – in this case based largely on what cattle and feedlot owners have told the company.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Reuters
