Chloramphenicol is a broad-spectrum bacteriostatic antibiotic widely used in human medicine and veterinary industry as key pharmaceutical raw material. It inhibits bacterial protein synthesis to restrain gram-positive, gram-negative and partial anaerobic pathogens. In human clinic, raw material is processed into oral tablets, eye drops, ointments and injections for curing respiratory tract infection, typhoid fever, intestinal bacterial infection and ocular bacterial inflammation including conjunctivitis and blepharitis. Veterinary grade material is made into feed additives and injection preparations to treat bacterial diseases of livestock, poultry and aquatic animals such as swine colibacillosis and chicken salmonellosis. It also serves as important biochemistry reagent for laboratory microbial culture medium preparation to screen and isolate pathogenic bacteria. Restricted by strict drug administration rules, human oral finished products are prescription-only medicine to avoid uncontrolled abuse, while feed addition usage is regulated by national veterinary drug standard to prevent antibiotic residue in animal derived food.
Chloramphenicol has prominent hematotoxicity which defines strict safety control during production and clinical application. Improper long-term or over dosage intake may trigger reversible or irreversible bone marrow suppression, causing leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and even fatal aplastic anemia, so continuous high-dose medication needs regular blood routine inspection. Common mild side effects include gastrointestinal discomfort such as nausea, diarrhea and poor appetite after oral administration; topical eye preparation occasionally leads to local eye irritation. Pregnant women, infants and patients with abnormal hematopoietic function are prohibited from relevant preparations. Production operators must equip dust mask and protective gloves to avoid long-term powder inhalation which may induce body allergic reaction and hematopoietic damage. Waste raw material and leftover intermediate shall be collected as pharmaceutical hazardous waste for specialized harmless treatment, forbidden direct discharge into water and soil. Residual limit of chloramphenicol in edible animal tissues is strictly controlled by global food safety regulations to protect consumer health.
