(Reuters) - A large trial comparing treatments for typhoid has backed the use of gatifloxacin, an antibiotic launched by Bristol Myers Squibb in the United States but withdrawn amid worries about side effects.The trial, conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal, analyzed gatifloxacin, which is available as a generic in Asia, against chloramphenicol, the standard treatment for typhoid since the 1950s -- and found both drugs to be equally effective.
But researchers found the side effects from the older drug were significantly worse, and their findings have prompted them to ask the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend gatifloxacin for certain patients in developing countries.
