Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (1999) 44, 279-281
© 1999 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Brief report |
Bactericidal action of oral ampicillin/sulbactam against Mycobacterium leprae
Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center at Louisiana State University, US Public Health Service, PO Box 25072, Baton Rouge, LA 70894-5072, USA
We reported previously that an injectable form of ampicillin/sulbactam, Unasyn, was bactericidal to Mycobacterium leprae multiplying in mouse foot pads. In this study, we examined the effect of an orally active form of ampicillin/sulbactam, Sultamicillin, on the growth of M. leprae in mice. Three concentrations of the drug, mixed with the feed, were administered from the start until the mice were killed at 6 months; 0.01% of the drug inhibited bacterial growth by 54%, 0.10% by 74% and 0.20% by 93%. To test whether oral ampicillin/sulbactam was bactericidal, 0.50% of the drug, mixed with the feed, was administered to experimentally infected mice for 3 months during the logarithmic phase of bacterial growth, and then discontinued; multiplication of the bacilli was monitored monthly for the next 8 months. The results showed that orally active ampicillin/sulbactam is bactericidal to M. leprae.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +1-225-346-5765; Fax: +1-225-346-5786; E-mail: Kprahakaran{at}mail.vetmed.isu.edu
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