(RxWiki News) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug to treat travelers’ diarrhea.
This new approval can be found under the name Aemcolo (rifamycin). Aemcolo is an antibiotic approved to treat adults with travelers’ diarrhea caused by the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli).
This new medication is not to treat complicated cases marked by fever or blood in the stool.
Affecting between 10 and 40 percent of travelers around the globe annually, travelers’ diarrhea is considered the most common travel-related illness. Travelers’ diarrhea is usually diagnosed when a person has:
- Three or more unformed stools in 24 hours
- Been traveling
Although travelers’ diarrhea can be caused by a variety of bacteria, it is commonly caused by bacteria found in food and water.
The highest-risk areas are in Asia, Africa, Central and South America and the Middle East.
Rifamycin is available in tablet form and is to be taken by mouth. The effectiveness of this new medication was shown in one randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial completed in Guatemala and Mexico. Participants who were given rifamycin experienced a significant reduction in travelers’ diarrhea symptoms when compared to those who were given placebo.
Possible side effects include constipation and headache. This medication is not to be taken by anyone with a known allergy to the active ingredient of Aemcolo (rifamycin), any of the other rifamycin-class medications (e.g., rifaximin) or any of the components in this medication.
This new approval was granted to Cosmo Technologies, Ltd.
