ANTIBIOTIC APPROACHES TO THERAPY FOR LEGIONNAIRES-DISEASE - A REVIEW

Legionella pneumophila, the infectious organism in Legionnaires' disea se, is an important cause of both community and nosocomial pneumonia. Erythromycin is the most frequently used drug for the treatment of leg ionnaires' disease; however there have been no controlled trials of an tibiotic therapy, so the optimal antibiotic treatment of legionnaires' disease is not known. Doxycycline and erythromycin have similar thera peutic effectiveness, Some of the newer antimicrobial agents, such as ofloxacin and azithromycin, have excellent activity against L pneumoph ila.