NEW-WORLD TEGUMENTAR LEISHMANIASIS - CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF RIFAMPICIN IN HUMANS AND EXPERIMENTAL MURINE MODEL

Daily doses of 0.5 mg of rifampicin given intraperitoneally to mice af ter a challenge dose of 104 amastigotes oft. amazonensis led to a sign ificant reduction of the size of local lesions. On the other hand, dai ly doses of 20 mg/kg to children or 1200 mg to adult patients infected with L. braziliensis did not bring any sign of improvement after 30 d ays of treatment. Our results formally contradict rifampicin as an alt ernative drug in Leishmania braziliensis infections.