Cipro
losing its ability
to fight germs
Overuse
of the antibiotic blamed for increased ineffectiveness
Wednesday,
February 19, 2003
CHICAGO,
Illinois (AP) -- Cipro, the antibiotic that became a household
word during the 2001 anthrax scare, is becoming increasingly
ineffective against other dangerous germs because of overuse,
a study found.
The
researchers examined data on infections in hospitalized patients
in 43 states and Washington, D.C., from 1994 to 2000. Ailments
included respiratory and urinary infections caused by a variety
of bacteria.
Many
germs had grown resistant to fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics
that includes ciprofloxacin, known by the brand name Cipro.
In
1994, Cipro was effective against 86 percent of the bacteria
samples analyzed, but that dropped to 76 percent by 2000, the
researchers found.
The
anthrax bacterium was not studied, and the researchers said
their findings do not mean that Cipro is becoming less effective
against anthrax, which rarely affects humans.
The
study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association.
"More
judicious use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics will be necessary
to limit this downward trend," said the researchers, led by
Melinda Neuhauser of the University of Houston.
Bacteria
that became increasingly resistant during the study were all
common causes of infection and included E. coli, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Resistance
can develop when a drug is used repeatedly against the same
germ, which may eventually mutate to outwit the drug. Overuse
and inappropriate use of antibiotics can also cause bacteria
that normally live in the body to mutate and become infectious.
The
increasing resistance found in the study came at a time when
doctors increasingly prescribed Cipro and similar drugs for
common ailments, including respiratory infections caused by
viruses, which are unaffected by antibiotics, the researchers
said.
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