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KU pharmacy school dean warns against taking anthrax antibiotics early

LAWRENCE -- Isolated reports of anthrax understandably have caused a wave of anxiety across the nation.

Still, rushing out to get a prescription for the anthrax antibiotic before any signs of exposure to the disease can only lead to more worries, said a leader in the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy.

"I can certainly understand why people are concerned and anxiety levels are very, very high," said Jack Fincham, dean of the KU pharmacy school. "But it doesn't make a lot of sense to me for people to go out and purchase an antibiotic and hoard an antibiotic just for the sake of trying to ease their anxiety."

Taking the anthrax antibiotic ciprofloxacin hydrochloride -- commonly referred to by its commercial name, Cipro -- can bring with it several side effects, he said, including joint pain, nausea and diarrhea. In rare cases, the side effects can be life-threatening. Furthermore, the drug should be administered with caution to people with seizure disorders, he said. People also should realize that the drug must be taken daily for at least 30 to 60 days.

"Antibiotics like ciprofloxacin are not innocuous substances; they are taken in a situation where you weigh the benefits versus the risks," Fincham said.

Along with risk of side effects is the obvious problem of hoarding drugs that could be made available to people who have actually been exposed to the disease, he said.

As with any antibiotics, taking them before any onset of exposure will do a person no good and, in fact, may cause a person's body to develop a resistance to the drug, rendering it useless should he or she need the treatment at a later date, Fincham said.

"The more antibiotics the individual consumes, the less likely he is to be responsive to that antibiotic when it's necessary to treat a condition that needs it," he said.

Instead of panicking and hoarding the drug, Fincham said, people should realize that the antibiotic is highly successful at eliminating anthrax if detected early.

"It's not like this is something that cannot be treated. And, if for one reason or another, there are sensitivities or there are people who can't take ciprofloxacin, there are other alternatives that people can take," he said.

Other possible treatments for anthrax include doxycycline and oral penicillin, he said.

Pharmacy students at KU learn about ciprofloxacin, along with other antibiotics and anti-infective therapies, in the program's pharmacotherapeutic sequence. Still, Fincham said, those lessons are changing almost daily to fit with the current situation.

"Certainly as these things arise, we change our curriculum to add more material that is necessary in order to prepare our pharmacy students to deal with what they are going to have to face when they practice," he said.

The best way to prepare against the possibility of exposure to anthrax is to pay close attention to your body and visit your doctor immediately if you have persistent flulike symptoms or mysterious skin irritations, he said.

Most important, Fincham said, people should maintain faith in the medical profession.

"People in the health care system are very vigilant right now, so individuals' physicians, pharmacists and nurses are people patients and consumers need to be very comfortable in calling and contacting," Fincham said.