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- General: Preventative therapy is usually recommended for AIDS patients who have a CD4 cell count lower than 50 cells per microliter of blood. Based on the most recent research, clarithromycin appears to be the most effective drug for the prevention of MAC.
- Clarithromycin (Biaxin ®): Clarithromycin (Biaxin ®) is FDA–approved for the prevention of MAC. Studies have shown that the drug reduces the number of MAC infections by 69%.
- Clarithromycin is considered to be the most effective drug for the prevention of MAC. However, some researchers are concerned that if a person develops MAC while taking clarithromycin, the infection will be resistant to treatment. According to several studies, about 50% of patients who developed MAC while taking clarithromycin developed MAC infections that were resistant to the drug.
- Rifabutin (Mycobutin ®): According to a multi–center trial, rifabutin (Mycobutin ®) can reduce the rate of MAC by almost 50% in AIDS patients. Several other studies show that the drug may help people live longer lives. Researchers have shown that taking rifabutin as a preventative treatment reduces the risk of fatality by 14%. The most serious side effects of rifabutin are low white blood cells counts and elevated liver enzymes.
- Azithromycin (Zithromax ®): Azithromycin (Zithromax ®) is the most recent drug to be FDA–approved for the prevention of MAC. This drug can be taken once a week due to its long half–life. One study found that azithromycin was more effective than rifabutin. The efficacy of azithromycin has not been compared to clarithromycin in studies.
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