Despite the current anthrax scare, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Student Health Services and students themselves are not sounding any alarms.
"I went to Student Health on Friday to see if I could get a prescription of Cipro for anthrax... to have it on hand if I did get exposed," said 4th-year Veterinary student Karen Oberthaler, referring to ciprofloxacin, or Cipro -- the antibiotic used to treat anthrax bacteria.
But she said Student Health Services would not give her the prescription.
Marjorie Bowman, chairwoman of Penn's Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine, said she has seen a small number of patients within the past few weeks who have asked her about anthrax and one patient who requested Cipro.
Bowman said she "strongly discourages" antibiotic usage for bioterrorism at this point.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Family Physicians, of which Bowman is a member, do not recommend that people obtain ciprofloxacin or other antibiotics. Other drugs -- including levofloxacin, doxycycline and amoxicillin -- may also combat the anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis.
"We routinely deny requests [from patients] that we consider inappropriate," Bowman said. "We have a different knowledge base than the average patient."
Bowman and her Penn Family Care colleagues have discussed anthrax at length. As of late last week, they were following recommendations made by the CDC and AAFP.
Yet Bowman said she was reluctant to call all precautionary measures on the part of doctors inappropriate.
"I would not go as far [to say these] physicians are wrong," Bowman said. "I'm not sitting with them knowing all the issues."
To prevent stockpiling, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania sent out a memo to physicians and Student Health on Friday that detailed restrictions on the four antibiotics commonly used against anthrax.
"We are not dispensing antibiotics for bioterrorism," said the memo's author, Neil Fishman, director of Penn's Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control and Antimicrobial Management programs.
HUP will only dispense 10-day supplies of the four antibiotics at one time.
Cipro is commonly used to treat urinary and respiratory infections, but it comes with risks. A severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction may occur, and both ciprofloxacin and doxycycline are associated with birth defects. In addition, unnecessary usage may lead to antibiotic resistance.
Despite the risks, many physicians are prescribing Cipro in light of the recent reports.
The CVS Pharmacy at 3923 Walnut St., had no Cipro late last week, which is unusual for the branch, according to a pharmacist who asked not to be identified.
Sara Datz, spokeswoman for Rite Aid Drugstores, said that nationally, the chain has seen an increase in sales of Cipro. It has ordered more to maintain stock in its stores.
In response to increased demand, Cipro manufacturer Bayer, which holds the patent on the drug, announced last week that it plans to increase production of the antibiotic by 25 percent beginning Nov. 1.
And yesterday, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for the federal government to allow other companies to produce generic ciprofloxacin, saying that Bayer's action is not enough.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the nation's stockpile of anti-bioterrorism drugs, said the department will look at the senator's proposal but feels the move is unnecessary at this time.
