Evaluation of the efficiency of ciprofloxacin against S. Typhi by altering the production of cytokines in acute typhoid fever in patients at Al-Diwaniyah Hospitals, Iraq

Aims: Typhoid fever is a life-threatening disease in the developing world that claims >600,000 deaths per year. Its causative agent Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhi) can be treated with ciprofloxacin, an effective broad-spectrum antibiotic that enhances the natural host defenses. However, the emergence of resistant bacterial strains may be a warning alarm against the clinical use of this antibiotic. This study was aimed to investigate the efficiency of ciprofloxacin treatment (250 mg/mL) against S. Typhi by altering the production of serum cytokines IL-10, 1L-6 and TNF-alpha in acute typhoid fever patients in Diwanyah Hospitals.Methodology and results: ELISA and Western Blot methods were used to investigate cytokine levels in patients and healthy controls sera. Our results showed that all cytokines' levels before treatment with ciprofloxacin were significantly higher than the control (healthy group). However, treated patients with ciprofloxacin revealed a significantly reduced concentration of IL-10 and TNF-alpha compared to untreated control samples. However, the level of IL-6 was higher even with ciprofloxacin treatment.Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The study concluded that ciprofloxacin (250 mg/mL) might significantly alter serum cytokines IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-alpha levels in acute typhoid fever patients. Therefore, further molecular studies are essential to understand the effect of ciprofloxacin on the production of cytokines.