Chloramphenicol Health Dictionary

A condition in which the white cells or LEUCOCYTES in the blood of the polynuclear or granular variety become greatly lessened in numbers or disappear altogether. It is usually caused by taking such drugs as amidopyrine, thiourea, sulphonamides, chloramphenicol and the immunosuppressant drugs.... agranulocytosis

A disease of rodents such as rabbits and rats, caused by the bacillus, Francisella tularense, and spread either by ?ies or by direct inoculation – for example, into the hands of a person engaged in skinning rabbits. In humans the disease takes the form of a slow fever lasting several weeks, with much malaise and depression, followed by considerable emaciation. It was ?rst described in the district of Tulare in California, and is found widely spread in North America and in Europe, but not in Great Britain. STREPTOMYCIN, the TETRACYCLINES and CHLORAMPHENICOL o?er e?ective treatment.... tularaemia

A rare, infectious disease causing fever and a rash with spots that spread over the body, darken, enlarge, and bleed. The disease occurs in North and South America and is caused by a rickettsia transmitted from small mammals by tick bites. Treatment is with chloramphenicol or tetracycline.... rocky mountain spotted fever

Linn.

Family: Aristolochiaceae. English: European Birthwort. Unani: Zaraawand Taweel.

Action: Oxytocic, abortifacient, emmenagogue.

Aristolochic acid and its Me es- ter—strongly abortifacient, showed damage to liver and kidney. Roots— anti-oestrogenic. A cytotoxic lignan, savinin, has been isolated from the roots.

Aristolochic acid also has an effect against adenosarcoma and HeLa cells in culture; however, it is suspected to be carcinogenic.

Aristolochia extracts show a pronounced enhancement of phagocytosis by leucocytes, granulocytes and peritoneal macrophages, due to the presence of aristolochic acids.

Tardolyt-coated tablets, which contain 0.3 mg of aristolochic acid, increase phagocytosis in healthy men.

Aristolochic acid also exhibits reduction of some of the toxic effects of prednisolone, chloramphenicol and tetracycline in experiments in vitro, and a reduction in the rate of recurrent herpes lesions in vivo.... aristolochia longa

Enteric fever is caused by bacterial infection with either Salmonella typhi or Salmonella paratyphi A, B or C. These infections are called typhoid fever, or paratyphoid fever respectively. Transmission usually occurs by ingestion of water or food that has been contaminated with human faeces – for example, by drinking water contaminated with sewage, or eating foods prepared by a cook infected with or carrying the organisms. Enteric fever is ENDEMIC in many areas of the world, including Africa, Central and South America, the Indian subcontinent and south-east Asia. Infection occasionally occurs in southern and eastern Europe, particularly with S. paratyphi B. However, in northern and western Europe and North America, most cases are imported.

Clinical course The incubation period of enteric fever is 7–21 days. Early symptoms include headache, malaise, dry cough, constipation and a slowly rising fever. Despite the fever, the patient’s pulse rate is often slow and he or she may have an enlarged SPLEEN. In the second week of illness, organisms invade the bloodstream again and symptoms progress. In general, symptoms of typhoid fever are more severe than those of paratyphoid fever: increasing mental slowness and confusion are common, and a more sustained high fever is present. In some individuals, discrete red spots appear on the upper trunk (rose spots). By the third week of illness the patient may become severely toxic, with marked confusion and delirium, abdominal distension, MYOCARDITIS, and occasionally intestinal haemorrage and/or perforation. Such complications may be fatal, although they are unusual if prompt treatment is given. Symptoms improve slowly into the fourth and ?fth weeks, although relapse may occur.

Diagnosis Enteric fever should be considered in any traveller or resident in an ENDEMIC area presenting with a febrile illness. The most common di?erential diagnosis is MALARIA. Diagnosis is usually made by isolation of the organism from cultures of blood in the ?rst two weeks of illness. Later the organisms are found in the stools and urine. Serological tests for ANTIBODIES against Salmonella typhi antigens (see ANTIGEN) (the Widal test) are less useful due to cross-reactions with antigens on other bacteria, and diffculties with interpretation in individuals immunised with typhoid vaccines.

Treatment Where facilities are available, hospital admission is required. Antibiotic therapy with chloramphenicol or amoxyacillin is e?ective. However, the potential toxicity of the former and the widespread resistance that has developed to both these antibiotics has led to the use of QUINOLONES such as CIPROFLOXACIN as the initial therapy for enteric fever in the UK and in areas where resistant organisms are common. A few individuals become chronic carriers of the organisms after they have recovered from the symptoms. These people are a potential source of spread to others and should be excluded from occupations that involve handling food or drinking-water.

Prolonged courses of antibiotic therapy may be required to eradicate carriage.

Prevention Worldwide, the most important preventive measure is improvement of sanitation and maintenance of clean water supplies. Vaccination is available for travellers to endemic areas.... enteric fever

A rare disease, although the causal organism, Listeria monocytogenes, is widely distributed in soil, silage, water, and various animals, with consequent risk of food contamination – for example, from unpasteurised soft cheese. Neonates are mainly affected – often as a result of a mild or inapparent infection in the pregnant mother. The disease presents in two main forms: MENINGOENCEPHALITIS, or SEPTICAEMIA with enlarged LYMPH glands. Elderly adults occasionally develop the ?rst form, while younger adults are more likely to develop a mild or even inapparent form. The disease is treated with ANTIBIOTICS such as ampicillin (see PENICILLIN) or CHLORAMPHENICOL.... listeriosis

A reduction in the number of neutrophil LEUCOCYTES per cubic millimetre of circulating blood to a ?gure below that found in health. There is still some disagreement over the precise limits of normality, but a count of fewer than 1,500 per mm3 would be generally accepted as constituting neutropenia. Several infective diseases are characterised by neutropenia, including typhoid fever (see ENTERIC FEVER), INFLUENZA and MEASLES. It may also be induced by certain drugs, including chloramphenicol, the sulphonamides and chlorpromazine.... neutropenia

(L.) Harms.

Synonym: Nothopanaxfruticosum (L.) Miq.

Panax fruticosus L.

Family: Araliaceae.

Habitat: Cultivated in gardens all over India.

Action: Leaf—used in sinusitis, headache, migraine, tonsillitis. Stem bark—used for promoting expulsion of placenta after child birth. Root— antibacterial, antifungal, diuretic. Leaf and root—used in dysuria.

The root contains polyacetylenes, falcarinol and heptadeca derivatives. Falcarinol and heptadeca exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and the der- matophytic bacteria, also showed an- tifungal activity. The antibacterial activity of falcarinol was found to be 15 to 35 times stronger than that of erythromycin, chloramphenicol and oxytetracyclin.

Polyscias scutellaria (Burm. f.) F. R. Fosberg (commonly grown in Indian gardens) exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. The leaves contain several tri- terpenoid saponins, polyscisaponins, oleanolic acid derivatives.... polyscias fruticosa

So-called because of the characteristic temperature chart showing recurring bouts of fever, this is an infectious disease caused by SPIROCHAETE. There are two main forms of the disease.

Louse-borne relapsing fever is an EPIDEMIC disease, usually associated with wars and famines, which has occurred in practically every country in the world. For long confused with TYPHUS FEVER and typhoid fever (see ENTERIC FEVER), it was not until the 1870s that the causal organism was described by Obermeier. It is now known as the Borrelia recurrentis, a motile spiral organism 10–20 micrometres in length. The organism is transmitted from person to person by the louse, Pediculus humanus.

Symptoms The incubation period is up to 12 days (but usually seven). The onset is sudden, with high temperature, generalised aches and pains, and nose-bleeding. In about half of cases, a rash appears at an early stage, beginning in the neck and spreading down over the trunk and arms. JAUNDICE may occur; and both the LIVER and the SPLEEN are enlarged. The temperature subsides after ?ve or six days, to rise again in about a week. There may be up to four such relapses (see the introductory paragraph above).

Treatment Preventive measures are the same as those for typhus. Rest in bed is essential, as are good nursing and a light, nourishing diet. There is usually a quick response to PENICILLIN; the TETRACYCLINES and CHLORAMPHENICOL are also e?ective. Following such treatment the incidence of relapse is about 15 per cent. The mortality rate is low, except in a starved population.

Tick-borne relapsing fever is an ENDEMIC disease which occurs in most tropical and sub-tropical countries. The causative organism is Borrelia duttoni, which is transmitted by a tick, Ornithodorus moubata. David Livingstone suggested that it was a tick-borne disease, but it was not until 1905 that Dutton and Todd produced the de?nitive evidence.

Symptoms The main di?erences from the louse-borne disease are: (a) the incubation period is usually shorter, 3–6 days (but may be as short as two days or as long as 12); (b) the febrile period is usually shorter, and the afebrile periods are more variable in duration, sometimes only lasting for a day or two; (c) relapses are much more numerous.

Treatment Preventive measures are more di?cult to carry out than in the case of the louse-borne infection. Protective clothing should always be worn in ‘tick country’, and old, heavily infected houses should be destroyed. Curative treatment is the same as for the louse-borne infection.... relapsing fever

Aristolochia longa, L. Aristolochia clematis L. Aristolochia indica L.

Part used: root. Long reputation in traditional medicine. Prescription by medical practitioner only. Action: stimulant, emmenagogue, diaphoretic, oxytocic (hence its name – to induce childbirth delivery). Immune enhancer. Stimulates action of white blood cells.

Reduces effects of Prednisolone, Chloramphenicol and Tetracycline (H. Wagner, “Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, vol 1, Pub: Academic Press (1985) UK)

Uses: Chinese medicine: ulcers, infectious diseases.

Preparations: Powdered root: dose – 2-4 grams. 2-3 times daily.

Madaus: Tardolyt: a sodium salt of aristolochic acid. ... birthwort

an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella paratyphi A, B, or C. Bacteria are spread in the faeces of patients or carriers, and outbreaks occur as a result of poor sanitation or unhygienic food-handling. After an incubation period of 1–10 days, symptoms, including diarrhoea, mild fever, and a pink rash on the chest, appear and last for about a week. Treatment with chloramphenicol is effective. The *TAB vaccine provides temporary immunity against paratyphoid A and B.... paratyphoid fever

an acute infectious disease of many animals, including cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and dogs, that is caused by a *rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii; it can be transmitted to humans primarily through inhalation of infected particles or consumption of contaminated unpasteurized milk but also via ticks, which can act as vectors. After an incubation period of up to three weeks a severe influenza-like illness develops, sometimes with pneumonia. The disease lasts about two weeks; treatment with tetracyclines or chloramphenicol is effective. See also typhus.... q fever

n. a genus of aerobic mouldlike bacteria. Most species live in the soil, but some are parasites of animals, humans, and plants; in humans they cause *Madura foot. They are important medically as a source of such antibiotics as *streptomycin, *neomycin, *dactinomycin, and *chloramphenicol.... streptomyces

An infective disease of worldwide distribution, the manifestations of which vary in di?erent localities. The causative organisms of all forms of typhus fever belong to the genus RICKETTSIA. These are organisms which are intermediate between bacteria and viruses in their properties, and measure 0·5 micrometre or less in diameter.

Louse typhus, in which the infecting rickettsia is transmitted by the louse, is of worldwide distribution. More human deaths have been attributed to the louse via typhus, louse-borne RELAPSING FEVER and trench fever, than to any other insect with the exception of the MALARIA mosquito. Louse typhus includes epidemic typhus, Brill’s disease – which is a recrudescent form of epidemic typhus – and TRENCH FEVER.

Epidemic typhus fever, also known as exanthematic typhus, classical typhus, and louse-borne typhus, is an acute infection of abrupt onset which, in the absence of treatment, persists for 14 days. It is of worldwide distribution, but is largely con?ned today to parts of Africa. The causative organism is the Rickettsia prowazeki, so-called after Ricketts and Prowazek, two brilliant investigators of typhus, both of whom died of the disease. It is transmitted by the human louse, Pediculus humanus. The rickettsiae can survive in the dried faeces of lice for 60 days, and these infected faeces are probably the main source of human infection.

Symptoms The incubation period is usually 10–14 days. The onset is preceded by headache, pain in the back and limbs and rigors. On the third day the temperature rises, the headache worsens, and the patient is drowsy or delirious. Subsequently a characteristic rash appears on the abdomen and inner aspect of the arms, to spread over the chest, back and trunk. Death may occur from SEPTICAEMIA, heart or kidney failure, or PNEUMONIA about the 14th day. In those who recover, the temperature falls by CRISIS at about this time. The death rate is variable, ranging from nearly 100 per cent in epidemics among debilitated refugees to about 10 per cent.

Murine typhus fever, also known as ?ea typhus, is worldwide in its distribution and is found wherever individuals are crowded together in insanitary, rat-infested areas (hence the old names of jail-fever and ship typhus). The causative organism, Rickettsia mooseri, which is closely related to R. prowazeki, is transmitted to humans by the rat-?ea, Xenopsyalla cheopis. The rat is the main reservoir of infection; once humans are infected, the human louse may act as a transmitter of the rickettsia from person to person. This explains how the disease may become epidemic under insanitary, crowded conditions. As a rule, however, the disease is only acquired when humans come into close contact with infected rats.

Symptoms These are similar to those of louse-borne typhus, but the disease is usually milder, and the mortality rate is very low (about 1·5 per cent).

Tick typhus, in which the infecting rickettsia is transmitted by ticks, occurs in various parts of the world. The three best-known conditions in this group are ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER, ?èvre boutonneuse and tick-bite fever.

Mite typhus, in which the infecting rickettsia is transmitted by mites, includes scrub typhus, or tsutsugamushi disease, and rickettsialpox.

Rickettsialpox is a mild disease caused by Rickettsia akari, which is transmitted to humans from infected mice by the common mouse mite, Allodermanyssus sanguineus. It occurs in the United States, West and South Africa and the former Soviet Union.

Treatment The general principles of treatment are the same in all forms of typhus. PROPHYLAXIS consists of either avoidance or destruction of the vector. In the case of louse typhus and ?ea typhus, the outlook has been revolutionised by the introduction of e?cient insecticides such as DICHLORODIPHENYL TRICHLOROETHANE (DDT) and GAMMEXANE.

The value of the former was well shown by its use after World War II: this resulted in almost complete freedom from the epidemics of typhus which ravaged Eastern Europe after World War I, being responsible for 30 million cases with a mortality of 10 per cent. Now only 10,000–20,000 cases occur a year, with around a few hundred deaths. E?cient rat control is another measure which reduces the risk of typhus very considerably. In areas such as Malaysia, where the mites are infected from a wide variety of rodents scattered over large areas, the wearing of protective clothing is the most practical method of prophylaxis. CURATIVE TREATMENT was revolutionised by the introduction of CHLORAMPHENICOL and the TETRACYCLINES. These antibiotics altered the prognosis in typhus fever very considerably.... typhus fever

n. 1. any epidemic disease with a high death rate. 2. an acute epidemic disease of rats and other wild rodents caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is transmitted to humans by rat fleas. Bubonic plague, the most common form of the disease, has an incubation period of 2–6 days. Headache, fever, weakness, aching limbs, and delirium develop and are followed by acute painful swellings of the lymph nodes (see bubo). In favourable cases the buboes burst after about a week, releasing pus, and then heal. In other cases bleeding under the skin, producing black patches, can lead to ulcers, which may prove fatal (hence the former name Black Death). In the most serious cases bacteria enter the bloodstream (septicaemic plague) or lungs (pneumonic plague); if untreated, these are nearly always fatal. Treatment with tetracycline, streptomycin, and chloramphenicol is effective; vaccination against the disease provides only partial protection.... plague

(spotted fever) n. any one of a group of infections caused by *rickettsiae and characterized by severe headache, a widespread rash, prolonged high fever, and delirium. They all respond to treatment with chloramphenicol or tetracyclines. Epidemic typhus (also known as classical or louse-borne typhus) is caused by infection with Rickettsia prowazekii transmitted by lice. It was formerly very prevalent in overcrowded insanitary conditions (as during wars and famines), with a mortality rate approaching 100%. Endemic typhus (murine or flea-borne typhus) is a disease of rats due to Rickettsia mooseri; it can be transmitted to humans by rat fleas, causing a mild typhus fever. There are in addition several kinds of tick typhus (in which the rickettsiae are transmitted by ticks), including *Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and typhus transmitted by mites (see rickettsial pox; scrub typhus).... typhus