JAC Advance Access originally published online on August 13, 2003
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Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2003) 52, 497-499
© 2003 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
In vitro activity of cethromycin, a novel antibacterial ketolide, against Chlamydia pneumoniae
Division of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki City, Okayama 701-0192, Japan
Received 14 February 2003; returned 15 April 2003; revised 13 June 2003; accepted 17 June 2003
Objectives: To investigate the in vitro activity of cethromycin, a new ketolide, against Chlamydia pneumoniae.
Methods: The in vitro activity of cethromycin against 20 isolates of C. pneumoniae was compared with the activities of telithromycin, erythromycin A, azithromycin and clarithromycin against those isolates.
Results: The MIC at which 90% of the isolates were inhibited and the minimal chlamydiacidal concentration at which 90% of the isolates were killed by cethromycin were both 0.016 mg/L (range 0.0160.031 mg/L). Cethromycin was the most active antibiotic tested in this study.
Conclusions: Our results appear to indicate that cethromycin is an effective antibiotic that should play some role in the treatment of respiratory tract infections caused by C. pneumoniae.
Keywords: macrolides, telithromycin, community-acquired pneumonia
* Corresponding author. Tel: +81-86-462-1111; Fax: +81-86-462-1199; E-mail: nao{at}med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp