Drug profile

The FDA adverse-event record for Chloramphenicol

74 adverse-event reports submitted to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine reference Chloramphenicol. Species, reactions, and outcomes follow.

#908 of 2,679
by report volume (all drugs)
74
adverse-event reports
21.6%
death-coded share
Dog
most-reported species

Corpus placement

According to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA adverse-event extract, Chloramphenicol ranks #907 of 2679 by total reports (74) and #211 of 1130 by death-coded share (21.6%). National dual: Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad is #1 of 2679 drugs by total adverse-event reports (149,624) at death-coded-share rank 965 of 1130 drugs with at least 50 reports (2.3%); separately, Atlantic Salmon Transgenic Whole (Opafp-Ghc2 Rdna Construct Inserted Into The A-Locus In The Eo-1A Lineage) is #1 highest death-coded share at 97.8% (report rank #821).

149,624
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad reports (#1)
97.8%
Atlantic Salmon Transgenic Whole (Opafp-Ghc2 Rdna Construct Inserted Into The A-Locus In The Eo-1A Lineage) death share (#1)
#907
This drug, reports of 2679
#211
This drug, death share of 1130

Report volume reflects how common a breed or drug is and how often owners and vets file — not actual risk. Death-coded share ranks are limited to entries with enough reports to be meaningful. The two maps do not agree at #1.

Release-over-release change

What changed in the latest FDA data snapshot

PlainBreed reconstructed the prior snapshot from dated openFDA partitions through 2025 Q4, then compared it with the 2026-07-27 openFDA export. Chloramphenicol has 74 reports now versus 72 in that prior snapshot: 2 more (2.8%).

Report change
+2
Death-coded reports
+0
Death-coded share
−0.6 pts

This compares reported-event counts in two source snapshots. It does not establish a change in real-world risk, product safety, or disease incidence.

Subscribe to Chloramphenicol changes

Signature read: Chloramphenicol's 21.6% death-coded share is among the highest in the openFDA drug corpus.

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
74
Total Reports
16
Deaths Reported
21.6%
Death-coded share of reports

Active Ingredients

Chloramphenicol

Administration Routes

UnknownOralTopical

Species Affected

Dog 54
Unknown 7
Horse 7
Cat 5
Other Birds 1

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 8
Retriever - Labrador 5
Horse (unknown) 5
Terrier - Jack Russell 4
Domestic Shorthair 3
Crossbred Canine/dog 3
Shepherd Dog - German 3
Bulldog - American 3
Terrier - West Highland White 2
Bichon Frise 2

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 15
Anorexia 12
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 12
Diarrhoea 10
Death by euthanasia 10
Lack of efficacy - NOS 6
Behavioural disorder NOS 6
Ataxia 6
Other abnormal test result NOS 5
Urinary incontinence 5
Weight loss 5
Death 5

Outcome Breakdown

Ongoing
21 (32.8%)
Recovered/Normal
15 (23.4%)
Outcome Unknown
12 (18.8%)
Euthanized
10 (15.6%)
Died
6 (9.4%)

Chloramphenicol: high death-coded share in the FDA AER row

Read these counts as reporting volume, not risk: per our methodology, a widely-prescribed drug will rack up more raw FDA reports in a given year than a rarely-used one at an identical true rate, so we recommend comparing within similar-exposure products rather than across the full 2025 catalog.

Nationwide drugs with similar profiles

Two openFDA-derived peer sets for Chloramphenicol, both floored at ≥50 reports so the neighborhoods stay in the advertised mass.

Similar report volume

Nearest other drugs by FDA report count (74 here).

Similar death-coded share

Nearest other drugs by death-coded share (21.6% here), distinct from the volume row.

What to do with this drug

A report does not prove a drug caused the reaction; consult a veterinarian before acting on this data.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (CVM AER) · 2025

openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (FDA CVM) for Chloramphenicol (#908 of 2,679 by report volume); death-coded 21.6%. PlainBreed drug row · death-coded share stamp 21.6% · vintage 2025.

Informational only. FDA adverse-event reports are voluntary and do not prove causation; consult a veterinarian before acting on them. Verify with FDA CVM →