01651nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002500055653001500080653001200095653003000107653001300137653001200150653000900162653002400171653001500195653002300210653002500233653001400258100001500272700001500287700001800302245008300320300001100403490000700414520091400421022001401335       1999                            d  c1999 Aug10aAdministration, Oral10aAmpicillin10aAnimals10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aHindlimb10aleprosy10aMice10aMice, Inbred BALB C10aMice, Nude10aModels, Biological10aMycobacterium leprae10aSulbactam1 aRandhawa B1 aHarris E B1 aPrabhakaran K00aBactericidal action of oral ampicillin/sulbactam against Mycobacterium leprae.  a279-810 v443 a<p>We reported previously that an injectable form of ampicillin/sulbactam, Unasyn, was bactericidal to Mycobacterium leprae multiplying in mouse foot pads. In this study, we examined the effect of an orally active form of ampicillin/sulbactam, Sultamicillin, on the growth of M. leprae in mice. Three concentrations of the drug, mixed with the feed, were administered from the start until the mice were killed at 6 months; 0.01% of the drug inhibited bacterial growth by 54%, 0.10% by 74% and 0.20% by 93%. To test whether oral ampicillin/sulbactam was bactericidal, 0.50% of the drug, mixed with the feed, was administered to experimentally infected mice for 3 months during the logarithmic phase of bacterial growth, and then discontinued; multiplication of the bacilli was monitored monthly for the next 8 months. The results showed that orally active ampicillin/sulbactam is bactericidal to M. leprae.</p>  a0305-7453