Gentamicin and Tetracyclines for the Treatment of Human Plague: Review of 75 Cases in New Mexico, 1985–1999
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and 2Department of Family Medicine and Masters in Public Health Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; 3Office of Epidemiology, New Mexico Department of Health, and 4Private practice, Santa Fe; 5Indian Health Service, United States Public Health Service, Crownpoint, New Mexico; and 6National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado
Streptomycin, an antimicrobial with limited availability, is the treatment of choice for plague, a fulminating and potentially epidemic disease that poses a bioterrorism concern. We evaluated the efficacy of gentamicin and tetracyclines for treating human plague. A medical record review was conducted on all 75 patients with plague who were reported in New Mexico during 1985–1999. Fifty patients were included in an analysis that compared streptomycin‐treated patients (
) with those treated with gentamicin and/or a tetracycline (
). The mean numbers of fever days, hospital days, and complications and the number of deaths did not differ between patients treated with streptomycin and those treated with gentamicin. One patient who received tetracycline alone experienced a serious complication. Gentamicin alone or in combination with a tetracycline was as efficacious as streptomycin for treating human plague. The efficacy of a tetracycline alone could not be determined from the study.
Received 24 April 2003; accepted 31 October 2003; electronically published 17 February 2004.
Cited by
Online publication date: 1-Mar-2006.