What bacteria do macrolides cover?
Sarah Cherry
Published Mar 11, 2026
What bacteria do macrolides cover?
Macrolides are effective against gram-positive (excluding enterococci) and some gram-negative bacteria. They are also active against Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Treponema pallidum, Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Legionella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Borrelia spp.
What is the spectrum of activity for azithromycin?
Azithromycin has good activity against staphylococci, streptococci, Moraxella catarrhalis and other rapidly growing pyogenic bacteria. The good activity of azithromycin against Haemophilus influenzae (MIC90 0.5 mg/l) is particularly important as erythromycin has only marginal activity against this organism.
What is the primary target of macrolide antibiotics?
The target of macrolide antibiotics is the bacterial ribosome. The ribosome is composed of two subunits, small and large (30S and 50S, respectively, in bacteria) (Figure II).
What is the mechanism of action for antibiotic macrolides?
The mechanism of action of macrolides revolves around their ability to bind the bacterial 50S ribosomal subunit causing the cessation of bacterial protein synthesis.
Are macrolides broad spectrum?
OVERVIEW. The macrolides are bacteriostatic antibiotics with a broad spectrum of activity against many gram-positive bacteria. Currently available macrolides are well tolerated, orally available and widely used to treat mild-to-moderate infections.
Are tetracyclines broad spectrum?
Tetracyclines are broad-spectrum agents, exhibiting activity against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, atypical organisms such as chlamydiae, mycoplasmas, and rickettsiae, and protozoan parasites.
What is the spectrum of activity?
This spectrum of activity, which includes the strains that can be inhibited by the antibiotic, does not vary qualitatively, although the percentages of susceptible bacterial strains in a species may change over time with the development of resistance.
Are tetracyclines bacteriostatic or bactericidal?
Tetracycline, considered to be a bacteriostatic an- tibiotic, has slow bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus in vitro [1]. The concen- tration of tetracycline required to inhibit the growth of stable, cell wall-defective S.
What is the spectrum of activity for penicillin?
Benzylpenicillin or penicillin G has a narrow antimicrobial spectrum. It is active with respect to Gram-positive bacteria (staphylococcus, streptococcus, and pneumococci), causative agent of diphtheria, and anthrax bacillus. Gram-negative bacteria are resistant to it.
Are tetracyclines macrolides?
Macrolides, lincosamides, tetracyclines and chloramphenicol are structurally unrelated antibiotics which share protein synthesis inhibition as their common mechanism of action.
Which antibiotics are tetracyclines?
Tetracyclines (tetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline, tigecycline) are a class of medication used to manage and treat various bacterial infections. Tetracyclines classify as protein synthesis inhibitor antibiotics and are considered to be broad-spectrum.
What is a macrolide antibiotic?
The macrolides are bacteriostatic antibiotics with a broad spectrum of activity against many gram-positive bacteria. Currently available macrolides are well tolerated, orally available and widely used to treat mild-to-moderate infections. Several macrolide antibiotics have been linked to liver injury.
Are there any macrolide antibiotics that cause liver damage?
Several macrolide antibiotics have been linked to liver injury. Five macrolide antibiotics are currently available for use in the United States: erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, fidaxomicin and telithromycin, the latter being a related ketolide.
What are the toxicity and adverse effects of macrolides?
Toxicity and adverse effects are uncommon for most macrolides (except tilmicosin), although pain and swelling may develop at injection sites. Hypersensitivity reactions have occasionally been seen. Erythromycin estolate may be hepatotoxic and cause cholestasis; it may also induce vomiting and diarrhea, particularly when high doses are administered.
What is the oral bioavailability of macrolides?
Macrolides tend to be characterized by high oral bioavailability, but this is variable among species, drugs, and salts. For example, oral bioavailability for tylosin is 0.35 for the tartrate salt versus 0.14 for the phosphate. For azithromycin, oral bioavailability is 39% in foals 6–10 wk old, 59% in cats, and 97% in dogs.