Ciprofloxacin and other related fluorinated
4-quinolones have microbiological and pharmacokinetic properties that suggest they could be useful agents in the management of
typhoid fever and bacterial
gastroenteritis. Initial studies confirm that this is the case. Against fully sensitive Salmonella typhi
ciprofloxacin is clinically as effective as
chloramphenicol or
co-trimoxazole. It is also effective treatment for
antibiotic-resistant strains which cause epidemic and endemic
infection throughout the world. Furthermore,
ciprofloxacin appears to eliminate chronic carriage of Salm. typhi more efficiently than other
antibiotics.
Ciprofloxacin has excellent in-vitro activity against all the bacterial pathogens that commonly cause infective diarrhoea. There are limited data concerning its use in the treatment of
shigella dysentery but, in appropriate situations,
ciprofloxacin is effective treatment for salmonella
enteritis and is also effective in
infections complicated by septicaemia and bone and
liver abscesses.
Ciprofloxacin appears to be of benefit in Campylobacter jejuni
enteritis and is effective in the treatment of travellers' diarrhoea were enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and shigellae are most important.