Treatment of plague with gentamicin or doxycycline in a randomized clinical trial in Tanzania.

Background: Over the past 50 years, antibiotics of choice for treatment of plague, including streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline, have mostly become outdated or unavailable. To test gentamicin in the treatment of naturally occurring plague and the implications of its use in the treatment of bioterrorist plague, a randomized, comparative, open-label, clinical trial comparing monotherapy with gentamicin or doxycycline was conducted in Tanzania.

Methods: Sixty-five adults and children with symptoms of bubonic, septicemic, or pneumonic plague of < or =3 days duration were enrolled in the study.