Zithromax (azithromycin),  a broad spectrum antibiotic known as Z-pak and Zmax used to treat bacterial infections, has been linked to the serious and sometimes fatal allergic skin reactions Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN).

The National Institutes of Health reports that a 62-year-old woman hospitalized 10 days after taking a course of azithromycin for an upper respiratory tract infection started out with fever, chills and a reddish discoloration around her eyes developed a rash that progressed to her feet within a few days.

She was started on steroid therapy for a presumed case of Stevens Johnson Syndrome and within several days the fever dissipated and her skin lesions gradually disappeared.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome is a rare but serious skin condition that is most often a reaction to medication. The skin blisters and eventually peels off. It affects mucous membranes, with blisters forming inside the body, making it difficult to eat, swallow, and urinate.

The first symptoms of Stevens Johnson Syndrome mimic the flu and are followed by a rash similar to a burn, open sores and skin peeling. Other signs of the disease are a purplish rash that spreads, painful blisters of the mucous membranes, blisters on the eyes, nose, mouth, and genitals, sloughing off of skin in large patches, joint and muscle pain and a burning sensation all over the body.

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, a more dangerous form of Stevens Johnson Syndrome, is diagnosed when blisters meld into each another and cover a substantial portion of the body. The skin also sloughs off in large patches. The dermis, the exposed under layer of the skin, appears red and looks like severe scalding.

Between 5 percent and 15 percent of SJS patients die from the side effects, while about up to 40 percent of TEN patients succumb to the disease. Survivors face a host of other medical problems including a secondary skin infection (cellulitis), sepsis, blindness, internal organ damage and permanent skin damage.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter on June 19, 2012, to Zithromax manufacturer Pfizer about the company’s brochures minimizing the associated risks of Zithromax and the risks of fatal allergic and skin reactions such as Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN).

Pfizer did mention a risk of Zithromax Stevens Johnson Syndrome on the drug’s warning label, but the FDA warning letter stated that Zmax brochures did not disclose the severity of the condition, which can range from very serious to fatal.

Pfizer and other drug manufacturers have been the subject of thousands of lawsuits by people who suffered Zithromax complications, including Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). The plaintiffs have accused the drug makers of failing to adequately warn about the occurrence of Stevens Johnson Syndrome. In addition to allergic skin reactions, Zithromax is alleged to have caused heart attack, stroke, eye injuries and other issues, including a case of Stevens Johnson Syndrome in a child.