Comparative trial of tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole in eradication of Vibrio cholerae El Tor.

A comparison of tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole showed that all hasten the eradication of Vibrio cholerae from the stools of patients with cholera.A four-day period of tetracycline or trimethoprim/ sulphamethoxazole was adequate for eradicating V. cholerae from the stools of all patients, but three days, as suggested by the W.H.O. Expert Committee, was not. Four days of chloramphenicol therapy was sufficient for most patients, but a minority required up to seven days' therapy.Purging produced reappearance of V. cholerae in the stools of one-eighth of the patients who had had three successive daily negative stool cultures; such patients are a potential danger to the population.