An old antibiotic commonly prescribed to cure acne or Lyme disease, could well find a new youth. The American health authorities are indeed on the point of recommending the prescription of doxycycline in the prevention of certain sexually transmitted infections, including three in particular: chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. diseases that have exploded in Europe and the United States over the past twenty years.
Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is expected to be released before the end of the summer according to AFP, will likely only target the groups most at risk: gay men or transgender women with previous infections. Because if the deployment of treatment, known as DoxyPEPbrings hope in the prevention of STIs, the concerns of health professionals who fear that preventive use of doxycycline will fuel antibiotic resistance must also be addressed.
A treatment to be taken within 3 days of unprotected intercourse
Doxycycline is already used as a first-line antibiotic treatment for chlamydia and occasionally for syphilis and gonorrhea. Advising this same drug for prevention is a step that the CDC is preparing to take based on a study presented last July 2022 at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, qio had shown that taking doxycycline after a report unprotected sex significantly reduced the risk of contracting certain sexually transmitted infections.
This study brought together 544 people, mainly men with homosexual relationships in the United States, in San Francisco and Seattle. Some were taking PrEP treatment for HIV and others were carrying the virus. In each group, some received doxycycline and others did not. The treatment was given within three days after exposure and for as long as necessary depending on the frequency of intercourse. A follow-up was carried out every three months. Result: taking antibiotics reduces STD risk by 62% in HIV patients and 66% in those taking PrEP.
An upsurge in sexually transmitted infections
This decision by the CDC comes against a backdrop of increasing cases of sexually transmitted infections, particularly among men who have sex with men, among whom condom use has declined with the generalization of PrEP, a preventive treatment against HIV infection. Some doctors Americans have also begun to prescribe this antibiotic to a small segment of the gay community considered to be at high risk of STIs.
