U.S. regulators have approved use of a powerful Johnson & Johnson antibiotic to treat plague, an extremely rare, sometimes-deadly bacterial infection.
FDA approves antibiotic to treat plague
FDA approved the powerful drug to also help reduce the risk if exposed to the bacteria that causes it
April 29, 2012 at 12:32AM
The Food and Drug Administration also approved Levaquin, known generically as levofloxacin, to reduce risk of people getting plague after exposure to the bacteria that cause it. Called Yersinia pestis, the bacteria are considered a potential bioterrorism agent.
Plague mainly occurs in animals. People can get it from bites from infected fleas or contact with infected animals or humans.
About 1,000 to 2,000 human cases occur worldwide each year.
The FDA approved Levaquin for plague after tests on African green monkeys infected with the bacteria in a lab found 94 percent of the monkeys given Levaquin survived.
-- ASSOCIATED PRESS
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