Effect of spiramycin on the nasopharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis.

Nine doses of oral spiramycin were administered to 59 adult healthy nasopharyngeal carriers of meningococci: a 2-gram loading dose followed by 1 g every 12 h for 4 days. There was a reduction in carriage of 85 and 59%, respectively, on the 2nd and 12th post-treatment day. There was no difference in vitro sensitivity to spiramycin and erythromycin of the meningococci isolated before and after treatment. Spiramycin may be advocated as an effective and safe alternative drug for the chemoprophylaxis of secondary meningococcal disease when sulphonamide resistance is suspected.