Health ministry issues alert against widely used antibiotic Tetracycline

New Delhi: Tetracycline, widely used to treat typhus, tick fever, respiratory infections, cholera and malaria, can cause adverse reactions, the health ministry’s Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) said in an alert.

The IPC has advised doctors and patients to be careful while using the drug and said that Tetracycline can cause skin reactions, which if left untreated can lead to a life-threatening situation.

Tetracycline, like other antibiotics, is a prescription drug.

“The analysis of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) from the PvPI database revealed Tetracycline drug used for treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhus, Q fever, rickettsial pox, tick fever caused by Rickettsiae, respiratory tract infections etc to be causing adverse drug reaction in form of Fixed Drug Eruption (FDE),” said IPC drug alert dated 25 September.

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The commission has advised doctors and patients to closely monitor the possibility of the above ADR associated with the use of Tetracycline and report to the IPC if any adverse reaction is noted.

India is the world's largest consumer of antibiotics. According to CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, the anti-infective segment’s market size stood at about ₹25,130 crore for fiscal year 2024.

IPC monitors adverse drug reactions among Indians and helps the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in taking regulatory decisions for safe use of medicines.

In May, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Raghuvanshi directed state licensing authorities to monitor the availability of unapproved antibiotic combinations in the market in view of excessive and irrational use of antibiotics in India which fail to work in patients when they are routinely exposed to these drugs.

Furthermore, the Centre is working on a proposal to regulate the usage of antibiotics under Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940.

Queries sent to the health ministry spokesperson remained unanswered.

Also read: Govt lens on misuse of antibiotics