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Article: Study Finds More Effective Treatment for Pneumonia Following Influenza.
- Article from:
- Pediatrics Week
- Article date:
- January 24, 2009
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Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated a more effective treatment for bacterial pneumonia following influenza. They found that the antibiotics clindamycin and azithromycin, which kill bacteria by inhibiting their protein synthesis, are more effective than a standard first-line treatment with the "beta-lactam" antibiotic ampicillin, which causes the bacteria to lyse, or burst.
The finding is important because pneumonia, rather than the influenza itself, is a principal cause of death from influenza in children and the elderly. During pandemics -- such as the one that may arise from avian influenza -- up to 95 percent of influenza ...