Azithromycin is the generic name for a prescription drug available as Zithromax, Zmax, and Z-Pak.
The drug is an antibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial infections, such as cat-scratch disease, ear infections, infections of the skin or surrounding tissue, and throat or tonsil infections.
Azithromycin is also used to treat lung and other respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, sinusitis, community acquired pneumonia, some cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and whooping cough (pertussis).
Doctors may also prescribe azithromycin for genital infections and sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea, infections of the urethra or cervix, genital ulcers, and severe pelvic inflammatory disease.
Azithromycin belongs to group of drugs known as macrolide antibiotics. They work by preventing bacteria from making their own proteins.
As with other antibiotics, to prevent the spread of drug-resistant infections, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly advises doctors to prescribe the drug only when there is proof, or a strong suspicion, that the infection is caused by bacteria against which azithromycin is effective.
The FDA first approved azithromycin under the brand name Zithromax in 1991. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals manufactures the drug.
