Doxycycline in enteric fever and brucellosis.

SIR,-We have been familiar in the past 35 years in Egypt with enteric fever as well as brucellosis and their traditional treatment with chloramphenicol and chloramphenicol and streptomycin respectively. During practice in the past two years in Nigeria we have been treating such cases with doxycycline. Recently we treated 20 cases suffering from either or both diseases. These patients had typical clinical manifestations and positive agglutination tests (for Salmonella typhi (5 cases), for Brucella abortus (5 cases), for both (6 cases), and for Salm. typhi and paratyphi B (4 cases), with rising titres. Defervescence was recorded on the fourth day of treatment on the average, together with marked amelioration of clinical symptoms. The patients were followed up for one month with no evidence of recrudesences or relapses. The successful dosage of doxycycline hydrochloride was 200 mg daily for four days followed by half this dose daily for another six or seven consecutive days (total 1,4001,500 mg). The dosage previously recommended was inadequate to bring about cure. There was neither any material side effect nor any change in the haematological picture. Two patients with icterus, included in this series, showed rapid improvement in liver function as well as in their general condition. -We are, etc., A. Z. SHAFEI W. S. LUKA General Hospital Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria