An STI ‘morning-after pill’ could stop one common disease in its tracks
An STI ‘morning-after pill’ could help the nation’s soaring rates of syphilis.
Experts are recommending that a common antibiotic be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex to prevent the infection taking hold.
Research found that just a single dose of the drug, doxyPEP – or doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis – was sufficient to combat the potentially life-threatening sexually transmitted infection.
Doxycycline is usually given to people to treat both syphilis and chlamydia, and generally needs to be taken every day for up to two weeks to help eliminate the infection.
But in a study of around 500 participants who had the infection in the previous years, one group was given doxyPEP after intercourse with no protection – which included oral sex – along with standard care.
The results showed the doxyPEP group had around a 90% lower risk of getting syphilis, and STI infections were down two-thirds overall, offering a relatively cheap and simple strategy to combat the crisis.
Data from the Local Government Association (LGA) shows more than two-thirds of council areas have seen increased rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis since 2017, but that the public health grant received by councils has been reduced by £880 million in real terms.
Councillor David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board said: ‘These statistics show that local sexual health services are grappling with unprecedented increases in demand. The government needs to ensure sexual health funding is increased to levels which match these stark increases.’
DoxyPEP is currently prescribed in San Francisco and other parts of the US, but it is not currently available on the NHS.
But according to a report, people in the UK aged between 16-24 years old experience the highest diagnosis rates of the most common STIs. In 2022, diagnosis increased by 26.5%.
Professor Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), told Mail Online that its working groups were ‘taking care’ to produce guidance on doxyPEP for the UK.
‘We are trying to understand who it might be useful for,’ he said.
‘It will be a useful tool for the right people.’
He also said that the ‘spectre’ of drug-resistant superbugs looms large, as another common infection, gonorrhoea, is increasingly immune to doxycycline and other first-line antibiotics.
STI tests
Getting tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is straightforward and confidential. Most infections can be cured.
A sexual health clinic (SHC) or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic specialises in sexual health, and can provide tests and treatment for many STIs.
You can make an appointment to go to a sexual health clinic.
Some sexual health clinics also offer a drop-in clinic, so you may not need an appointment. But it is a good idea to call the sexual health clinic first to check this is the case.
Remember: getting an STI test is nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, it’s the smart move.
Source: NHS
US regulators the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued guidance recommending doxyPEP to help control the country’s syphilis crisis.
According to a recent report, there has been an 80% rise in cases across the US since 2018.
A major concern is that the disease can be passed by mothers to babies during pregnancy or shortly after birth – known as congenital syphilis.
This can have tragic outcomes which include miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death and lifelong medical issues. In 2022, more than 3,700 babies in the US were born with syphilis.
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