Florfenicol (marketed by Schering-Plough Animal Health under the brand name Nuflor) is a fluorinated synthetic analog of

thiamphenicol Thiamphenicol (also known as thiophenicol and dextrosulphenidol) is an antibiotic. It is the methyl-sulfonyl analogue of chloramphenicol and has a similar spectrum of activity, but is 2.5 to 5 times as potent. Like chloramphenicol, it is insolub ...

, mainly used as a

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

. Florfenicol is available a

generic medication A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ch ...

Veterinary uses

In the United States, florfenicol is

indicated In medicine, an indication is a valid reason to use a certain test, medication, procedure, or surgery. There can be multiple indications to use a procedure or medication. An indication can commonly be confused with the term diagnosis. A diagnosis ...

for the treatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) associated with '' Mannheimia haemolytica'', ''

Pasteurella multocida ''Pasteurella multocida'' is a Gram-negative, nonmotile, penicillin-sensitive coccobacillus of the family Pasteurellaceae. Strains of the species are currently classified into five serogroups (A, B, D, E, F) based on capsular composition and 16 ...

'', and ''

Histophilus somni ''Histophilus somni'' is a non-motile, gram-negative, rod or coccobacillus shaped, facultative anaerobe bacterial species belonging to the family Pasteurellaceae. Prior to 2003, it was thought ''Haemophilus somnus'', ''Histophilus ovis'', and ''H ...

'', for treatment of bovine interdigital

phlegmon A phlegmon is a localized area of acute inflammation of the soft tissues. It is a descriptive term which may be used for inflammation related to a bacterial infection or non-infectious causes (e.g. pancreatitis). Most commonly, it is used in con ...

(foot rot, acute interdigital necrobacillosis, infectious pododermatitis) associated with '' Fusobacterium necrophorum'' and '' Prevotella melaninogenica''. In swine, it is indicated for the treatment of respiratory infections caused by ''

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ''Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae'' (previously ''Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae''), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, respiratory pathogen found in pigs. It was first reported in 1957, and was formally declared to be the causative agent o ...

'', ''

Bordetella bronchiseptica ''Bordetella bronchiseptica'' is a small, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus ''Bordetella''. It can cause infectious bronchitis in dogs and other animals, but rarely infects humans. Closely related to '' B. pertussis''—the obl ...

'', ''Glaesserella parasuis'', ''P. multocida'', and ''

Streptococcus suis ''Streptococcus suis'' is a peanut-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium, and an important pathogen of pigs. Endemic in nearly all countries with an extensive pig industry, ''S. suis'' is also a zoonotic disease, capable of transmission to humans from ...

''. Florfenicol is also used in

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

, and is licensed for use in the United States for the control of enteric septicemia in

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

. Since the early 2000s, it has been used in the Europe Union, treating mainly primary or secondary colibacillosis in

broiler Breed broiler is any chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four and six weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaug ...

and parent flocks. The use of florfenicol in horses, and likely in other equids, typically causes diarrhea. This has been anecdotally reported to progress to lethal cases of acute colitis. Therefore, use of this antimicrobial in the equine patient should be limited to cases in which other, safer, options are not available. In November 2024, the US

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

approved Paqflor (florfenicol), the first generic florfenicol drug for controlling mortality in certain species of freshwater-reared fish. Paqflor contains the same active ingredient (florfenicol) as the approved brand name drug product, Aquaflor, which was first approved in October 2005. In addition, the FDA determined that Paqflor contains no inactive ingredients that may significantly affect the bioavailability of the active ingredient. Paqflor is indicated for freshwater-reared salmonids: for the control of mortality due to furunculosis associated with ''

Aeromonas salmonicida ''Aeromonas salmonicida'' is a pathogenic bacterium that severely impacts salmonid populations and other species. It was first discovered in a Bavarian brown trout hatchery by Emmerich and Weibel in 1894. ''Aeromonas salmonicida's'' ability to in ...

''. For the control of mortality due to coldwater disease associated with ''

Flavobacterium psychrophilum ''Flavobacterium psychrophilum'' is a psychrophilic, gram-negative bacterial rod (3-5 μm in length), belonging to the Bacteroidota. It is the causative agent of bacterial coldwater disease (BCWD) and was first isolated in 1948 during a die- ...

''; freshwater-reared finfish: for the control of mortality due to columnaris disease associated with ''

Flavobacterium columnare ''Flavobacterium columnare'' is a thin Gram-negative rod bacterium of the genus ''Flavobacterium''. The name derives from the way in which the organism grows in rhizoid columnar formations. The species was first described by Davis (1922), and th ...

''; catfish: for the control of mortality due to enteric septicemia of catfish associated with '' Edwardsiella ictaluri''; freshwater-reared warmwater finfish: for the control of mortality due to streptococcal septicemia associated with '' Streptococcus iniae''. fda.gov
/ref>

Contamination

Florfenicol was among the drug contaminants in a brand of supermarket eggs in Taiwan and Iran.

References

{{Authority control Acetamides Amphenicols Benzosulfones Beta-Hydroxyamphetamines Dichloromethyl compounds Organofluorides Phenylene compounds