title: Therapeutic effects of roxithromycin and azithromycin in experimental murine brucellosis.
abstract: Mice infected with Brucella melitensis were treated with azithromycin or roxithromycin at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day i.p. alone and in combination with streptomycin 75 mg/kg/day for 14 days. Streptomycin at this dose was previously documented to be ineffective against murine brucellosis. Azithromycin- and azithromycin/streptomycin-treated animals demonstrated a significantly better cure rate than controls. Therapy failure was observed in all mice treated with roxithromycin 50 mg/kg/day i.p. alone or in combination with streptomycin 75 mg/kg/day. Our findings demonstrate that azithromycin cures experimental murine brucellosis and may be an effective alternative in the therapy of human brucellosis.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Meir Hospital, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shasha
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ifrach
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tinman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017963:Azithromycin / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000254:growth & development; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D051379:Mice; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015575:Roxithromycin / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015575:Roxithromycin; D017963:Azithromycin