engleski

Azithromycin in prophylaxis of mediterranean spotted fever

An open, controlled study was conducted in North Dalmatia (Croatia) to assess the efficacy of azithromycin (Sumamed, Pliva) in prophylaxis of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) in 124 persons with a history of recent tick bite during 1994 and 1995. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was performed to detect Rickettsia conorii antibodies in 124 individuals who met inclusion criteria. Patients were divided in two groups: in group A 38 patients received 500 mg of azithromycin and in group B 86 patients did not receive any antibiotic prophylaxis. None of the patients in group A developed any clinical signs of MSF, while positive titers of IFA antibodies at the end of the observation period were detected in 12/38 (31.2%) patients. The usual clinical signs of MSF were observed in 22/86 (25.6%) and positive titers of R. conorii antibodies in 52/86 (60.5%) patients in group B. Because of high prevalence of R. conorii infected ticks in North Dalmatian region use of azithromycin in prophylaxis of MSF make sense and further investigation is needed to consolidate our principal results.

mediterranean spotted fever; Rickettsia conorii; tick; azithromycin; prophylaxis

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