Furazolidone has been used in human and veterinary medicine. It has a broad spectrum of activity, being active against: •
Gram-positive bacteria •
Clostridium perfringens •
Corynebacterium pyogenes •
Streptococci •
Staphylococci •
Gram-negative bacteria •
Escherichia coli •
Salmonella dublin •
Salmonella typhimurium •
Shigella •
Protozoa •
Giardia lamblia •
Eimeria species •
Histomonas meleagridis Use in humans In humans, it has been used to treat
diarrhoea and
enteritis caused by
bacterial or
protozoan infections, including traveler's diarrhoea,
cholera, and
bacteremic salmonellosis. In 2002, a journal article suggested its use in treatment of
H. pylori infections in children. Furazolidone has also been used for
giardiasis (due to
Giardia lamblia), amoebiasis, and shigellosis, although it is not a first-line treatment. From the early 1970s, it has been used in China to treat
peptic ulcers, where the mechanism is treatment of the causative
Helicobacter pylori infection.
Use in animals As a
veterinary medicine, furazolidone has been used with some success to treat
salmonids for
Myxobolus cerebralis infections. It has also been used in
aquaculture. Since furazolidone is a nitrofuran antibiotic, its use in food animals is currently prohibited by the FDA under the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act, 1994. Furazolidone is no longer available in the US.
Use in laboratory It is used to differentiate
micrococci and
staphylococci. ==Mechanism of action==