| Abstract | The in vitro and in vivo activities of azithromycin against chlamydia were investigated. The MIC of azithromycin for five standard strains of different species of chlamydia and six wild-type strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae was 0.125 microgram/ml, which was superior to that of erythromycin but inferior to those of clarithromycin and minocycline. However, the therapeutic effect of a 7-day course of azithromycin at a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight administered orally once daily to mice with experimental Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia was excellent, with a 100% survival rate at 14 days after infection, which was the same as that for treatment with minocycline administered at 10 mg/kg twice daily; all erythromycin treated animals died within 10 days. When treatment was discontinued 3 days after the infection, the survival rate for mice treated with azithromycin was 90% and that for mice administered minocycline was 30%. These results suggest that azithromycin may be useful in the treatment of respiratory infections caused by intracellular pathogens, including chlamydia because of its excellent accumulation within host cells. |
| Authors | Y Niki, M Kimura, N Miyashita, R Soejima
(Affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School, Japan.)
|
| Journal | Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
(Antimicrob Agents Chemother)
Vol. 38
Issue 10
Pg. 2296-9
(Oct 1994)
ISSN: 0066-4804 UNITED STATES |
| PMID | 7840560
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
|
| Chemical References |
|
| Topics |
- Animals
- Azithromycin
(pharmacology, therapeutic use)
- Chlamydia Infections
(drug therapy)
- Chlamydophila pneumoniae
(drug effects)
- Chlamydophila psittaci
(drug effects)
- Male
- Mice
- Microbial Sensitivity Tests
|
