Pertussis Treated With Chloramphenical

This paper reports our accumulated experience with chloramphenicol (chloromycetin®) in the treatment of pertussis during a severe epidemic which occurred during the months of July to October in Bolivia. The majority of these cases were in the department of Cochabamba. Pertussis in this region is of high virulence, with the death rate among children approaching double that encountered in North America. This high death rate does not seem to be influenced by the wide variation of altitude and climate of Bolivia and is influenced little by the social level of the patients. EPIDEMIOLOGIC DATA During the period of this study the following facts were established regarding the epidemic: Untreated young children (first 5 years) were found to have a moderate to high temperature (37.5 to 39.5 C., 99.5 to 103.1 F.) for a period of usually two weeks during the early stage of the disease, and the paroxysmal stage averaged