Cipro Just In Case? Experts Say No

NEW YORK -- Since cases of anthrax have turned up in Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York, people have been rushing out to get Cipro, an antibiotic used to battle the bacterium.

But experts warn that you shouldn't start taking the drug as a preventative measure because it may do more harm than good.

Pharmacies across the country are swamped with prescriptions for antibiotics, written by doctors who have been bombarded by patients demanding anti-anthrax drugs, especially Cipro, an expensive antibiotic.

The recommended 60-day, two-pill-per-day treatment would cost about $560. Ordering the drug online at a cheaper cost does not guarantee its authenticity, experts said.

"I have three major wholesalers and most of them said that they were out of it," said pharmacist Alan Schnuer.

Experts who have worked with anthrax said that very few people should be taking antibiotics for possible anthrax exposure.

"The people who are at risk are the people who were in the room when the letter was opened, those are the people who are at maximum risk, and as you proceed outward from there, the risk diminishes drastically, so someone who was in the next room, their risk was practically zero," said Dr. Martin Blaser of New York University Medical Center.

Antibiotics all have potential side effects. Cipro can cause side effects such as abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea dizziness, headache, lightheadedness and trouble sleeping. Rare, but still possible side effects of Cipro, include agitation, confusion, hallucinations, fever, shortness of breath, skin rash, joint pain, tendonitis, and kidney and liver damage.

Cipro can cause permanent cartilage and tendon damage in children under 18. It can trigger colitis; cause bleeding because it enhances the effect of coumadin, a widely used blood thinner; and has never been tested for effects on pregnant women.

Overused antibiotics taken as a precuation may lead to antibiotic-resistant germs.

"The number of lives that would be lost to that (antibiotic-resistant germs) would be many times greater than the number of lives involved in a bioterrorist attack," said Blaser.

Many experts said that antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are the most serious emerging crisis in medicine and said that if you weren't in the immediate area of the intitial anthrax exposure, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than getting anthrax.