[Beta-lactam antibiotics (ampicillin, cefotaxime) in prevention of experimental plague in albino mice, caused by non-fractioned strains of the pathogen].

The prophylactic action of betalactam antibiotics such as ampicillin and cefotaxime in plague was studied on albino mice infected subcutaneously by Fra+ (Y. pestis 231) and Fra- (Y. pestis 231 Fra-, K-16) variants of the plague microbe. Ampicillin, a semisynthetic penicillin, was prophylactically less active in experimental plague infection induced by the fraction I defect forms of Y. pestis. Cefotaxime, a 3rd generation cephalosporin, was active in experimental plague induced by both the type and the fraction-free strains of Y. pestis.