Fig. 12.

Effect of levofloxacin administered from either day 1 or day 4 post irradiation. levofloxacin prevented mortalities during the first 8 days post irradiation and also prevented diarrhea if administered from day 1 (+24h), but not day 4 post irradiation. This observation was consistent in two strains of adult (10-12 week) male mice. Many animals in the group receiving no antibiotic developed swollen muzzles and had faecal associated enterobacteriacae (E.coli and K.pneumoniae) faecal streptococci (S.faecalis and S.faecium) or P.aeruginosa in more than one organ. These samples also had a positive blood culture containing the same organisms, confirming the leaking of gut flora in to the blood. The infection and incidence of swollen muzzles was eliminated by levofloxacin.