INFECTIOUS DISEASE Bacterial • Strep throat: For kids, risk increases with intact tonsils • Antibiotic gatifloxacin (Tequin) pulled from market • Hand washing: A simple way to prevent infection • From bacteria to parasites: Understanding the germs that cause infection • E. coli: What high levels in water mean

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What happened?The antibiotic Tequin, the subject of concerns about side effects, is being taken off the market.

Although manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb is pulling the drug gatifloxacin (Tequin), current stocks of the antibiotic are still available. However, no additional gatifloxacin will be made.

Gatifloxacin is in a class of popular broad-spectrum antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. The antibiotic has been linked to fluctuations in blood sugar severe enough to require hospitalization. Other adverse effects, including kidney failure and liver problems, have led to the withdrawal or restriction of several other drugs from the same class of antibiotics.

Gatifloxacin has been used to treat many different bacterial infections, including pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections and certain sexually transmitted diseases. Other antibiotics in the same class include ciprofloxacin (Cipro, others) and levofloxacin (Levaquin, others).

What does this mean to you? If you're taking gatifloxacin, ask your doctor about an alternate antibiotic — especially if you have diabetes, a severe infection or other factors that increase your risk of blood sugar fluctuations. Other antibiotics are available for every approved use for gatifloxacin.