The Fluoroquinolone Finafloxacin Protects BALB/c Mice Against an Intranasal Infection With Francisella tularensis Strain SchuS4

Discussion Currently, there is no licensed vaccine available which would protect people against either natural exposures or deliberate releases of F. tularensis. Antibiotic treatment is typically effective although relapse of disease has been reported in patients treated with ciprofloxacin and doxycycline (Chocarro et al., 2000; Dennis et al., 2001; Pérez-Castrillón et al., 2001; Boisset et al., 2014). This relapse correlates with the development of symptoms and the time taken to initiate therapy (Hepburn and Simpson, 2008). Thus, evaluation of alternative therapies that can be self-administered and that can offer protection even delayed, would offer an obvious advantage to clinicians, negating the use of parenterally administered antibiotics and the associated requirement of both medical facilities and personnel. In addition, therapies offering protection following short regimens would also be of interest, increasing the likelihood of antibiotic regimen completion rates and a reduction in potential side effects. When evaluated against F. tularensis strains SchuS4 and HN63 in vitro at pH 7, finafloxacin demonstrated comparable activity to ciprofloxacin (with respect to MIC), but with improved killing ability (as demonstrated by a lower MBC). Finafloxacin demonstrated bactericidal activity against F. tularensis strain SchuS4 at pH 7 and bacteriostatic activity at pH 6, although this was very nearly classified as bactericidal. Ciprofloxacin was shown to be bacte...
Source: Frontiers in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research