BMJ 2001;323:1017-1018 ( 3 November )

Editorials

Prophylactic treatment of anthrax with antibiotics

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics will lead to resistance in organisms

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

B acillus anthracis has long been considered a potential biological weapon. The Scottish island of Gruinard was contaminated with spores for 45 years and the Aum Shinrikyo terrorists made unsuccessful attempts to release aerosols of anthrax and Clostridium botulinum spores in Tokyo.¹ In addition, anthrax spores were inadvertently released from a microbiological facility in Sverdlovsk in the former Soviet Union, resulting in at least 79 people getting anthrax and 68 deaths.¹ In response to the recent anthrax attacks in the United States, the US and other governments have bought large amounts of ciprofloxacin, and in the US many potentially exposed individuals have started prophylactic treatment. Unofficial use of ciprofloxacin will be common in the light of the worldwide panic. Ciprofloxacin has been chosen to treat anthrax for its ease of administration, good safety profile, and predictable activity. The alternatives are amoxicillin or doxycycline, but these too have side effects and can induce resistance. . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Steward, J., Lever, M. S., Simpson, A. J. H., Sefton, A. M., Brooks, T. J. G. (2004). Post-exposure prophylaxis of systemic anthrax in mice and treatment with fluoroquinolones. J Antimicrob Chemother 54: 95-99 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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