Chloramphenicol, << `klawr` am FEHN uh kohl, >> is an antibiotic once used for the treatment of many kinds of infections. It has proved lifesaving in such serious infections as meningitis, typhoid fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and typhus. Chloramphenicol can cause a fatal side effect, however. Because other equally effective and safer antibiotics have become available, chloramphenicol is now seldom used in the United States.
Chloramphenicol was discovered in 1947. It was one of the first widely used antibiotics. During the 1950’s, it became evident that chloramphenicol can cause aplastic anemia, a potentially fatal condition characterized by the failure of the bone marrow to make blood cells.
