Among 1109 patients with bacteriologically confirmed El Tor
cholera admitted to the San Lazaro Hospital, Manila, in 1969, 11 patients continued to excrete vibrios of the same biotype and serotype in stools for more than 1 week in spite of
antibiotic treatment.The strains isolated from these patients all belonged to the Ogawa serotype and were all highly resistant to
streptomycin and
chloramphenicol, and a few of them were resistant also to
tetracycline. Other
streptomycin-resistant strains of El Tor vibrio were detected, 5 in the Greater Manila area and 1 in Bacolod.The
antibiotic-resistant strains showed a high sensitivity to 3 kinds of antimicrobial chemicals, particularly dihydroxymethyl
furalazine.Furalazine was given to 33 adults and 15 children with bacteriologically confirmed
cholera, and its effect in reducing the duration of diarrhoea and excretion of vibrios was investigated in comparison with the same number of cases treated with
chloramphenicol.
Furalazine was more effective in reducing the duration of positive stool culture than
chloramphenicol, and the two
antimicrobial agents were equally effective in decreasing intravenous fluid requirements.Since
furalazine was satisfactory in reducing the duration of diarrhoea and excretion of vibrios in stools, and since no resistant strains were found, the
drug could be recommended as an alternative to
chloramphenicol and
tetracycline in the treatment of
cholera.