The administration of an antibiotic agent to prevent an infection, or to prevent an incubating infection from progressing to disease, or to eliminate a carrier state to prevent transmission and disease in others. Chemoprophylaxis is currently available for anthrax, plague, Q fever, and tularemia.
The use of chemical agents to prevent infectious disease.
Taking antimalarial drugs to prevent the disease.
The use of a drugs to prevent infectious diseases (e.g., the use of anti-malarial pills).
disease prevention using chemicals.
Prevention of disease by the use of chemicals or drugs.
the administration of anti-tuberculosis drug(s) to prevent the acquisition or progression of tuberculosis infection. The former may be referred to as primary chemoprophylaxis or preventive therapy, the latter as secondary chemoprophylaxis.
Chemoprophylaxis refers to the administration of a medication for the purpose of preventing disease. Antibiotics, for example, may be administered to patients with disorders of immune system function to prevent infection (particularly opportunistic infection). Antibiotics may also be administered to healthy individuals to limit the spread of an epidemic, or to patients who have repeated infections (such as urinary tract infections) to prevent recurrence.
