Levofloxacin Cures Experimental Pneumonic Plague in African Green Monkeys

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ID: 112787
2011
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Abstract
Author Summary Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of bubonic plague as well as a rare severe form known as primary pneumonic plague resulting from the inhalation of contaminated aerosols. The relative ease of aerosol preparation and high virulence makes Y. pestis a dangerous bioweapon. The current study describes the treatment of established pneumonic plague with the widely available, broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin in a nonhuman primate model. African green monkeys inhaled a target dose of 100 lethal doses for 50% of animals (LD50) and were monitored for fever and vital signs by telemetry. Fever was the first sign of illness, correlating with bacteremia but preceding radiographic pneumonia, and initiated intravenous levofloxacin treatment in doses designed to mimic antibiotic levels achieved in humans. All animals treated with saline died and all animals completing 10 days of treatment survived, with resolution of high fever within 24–48 hours. We conclude that levofloxacin may be an appropriate broad-spectrum antibiotic for presumptive therapy in an aerosolized bioweapons attack and should be studied for treatment of bubonic plague.
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Authors Robert Colby Layton;William Mega;Jacob D. McDonald;Trevor L. Brasel;Edward B. Barr;Andrew P. Gigliotti;Frederick Koster;
Journal plos neglected tropical diseases
Year 2011
DOI
10.1371/journal.pntd.0000959
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000959
Keywords
bacteremia aerosols antibiotics body temperature macaque yersinia pestis Fevers pneumonic plagues National Center for Biotechnology Information NCBI NLM MEDLINE animals pubmed abstract nih national institutes of health national library of medicine Disease Models Animal bacteremia / mortality Survival Analysis lung / pathology anti-bacterial agents / administration & dosage* radiography levofloxacin* chlorocebus aethiops intravenous infusions bacteremia / drug therapy pmid:21347450 pmc3035670 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000959 robert colby layton william mega frederick koster bacteremia / pathology ofloxacin / administration & dosage* plague / complications plague / drug therapy* plague / mortality plague / pathology primate diseases / drug therapy* primate diseases / mortality primate diseases / pathology thoracic

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