Cheap ‘Morning-After’ Pill Could Reduce STD Surge, CDC says

CDC says that an inexpensive morning-after pill could reduce the STD surge. Credit: Public Domain

Researchers suggest that a cheap antibiotic, known as doxycycline, could help slow down the increasing rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is creating recommendations to use doxycycline, a drug that is commonly used to treat bacterial infections and prevent malaria, as a way to prevent STDs. Dr. Leandro Mena, director of the agency’s STD prevention division, revealed this information.

The CDC has reported that in 2021, more than 2.5 million people were diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, indicating the severity of the issue.

Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., a retired health official who lectures at the Colorado School of Public Health, said that sexually transmitted infections are a significant public health problem that has been neglected for years, despite being the most commonly reported type of infectious disease.

Study on the effectiveness of doxycycline

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has examined the effectiveness of a drug called doxycycline.

Scientists from San Francisco and Seattle conducted the study with 500 individuals who identified as gay, bisexual, or transgender women and had previously been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

The study discovered that taking a 200-milligram dose of doxycycline within three days of having unprotected sex reduced the risk of getting bacterial STDs, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, by two-thirds every three months.

NIH-funded study finds Doxycycline reduces sexually transmitted infections by two thirds when taken within 72 hours of having condomless sex; this Post exposure approach termed the Doxy-PEP resulted in a 2/3 reduction in the incidence of Gonorrhea, syphilis and Chlamydia.
Link;👇 pic.twitter.com/kijdrVL8Jj

— Dr.Henry Kaweesi (@HKaweesi) April 7, 2023

The researchers discovered that individuals who took doxycycline pills after having sexual intercourse were significantly less likely to contract certain sexually transmitted infections.

Specifically, they were about 90% less likely to get chlamydia, about 80% less likely to get syphilis, and more than 50% less likely to get gonorrhea when compared to those who did not take the pills after sex.

However, the study also identified that doxycycline is not effective in preventing STDs for heterosexual women. Additionally, some side effects of the drug can include stomach problems, sensitivity to sunlight, and rashes.

Dr. Philip Andrew Chan, who is advising the CDC on doxycycline recommendations, cautioned that the medicine is not a “magic bullet.” He described it instead as “another tool” in the fight against the STD epidemic. He emphasized the need for new approaches and innovations to address this widespread problem.

STD’s trend is not slowing down

The trend of STDs is not showing any signs of slowing down, as confirmed by Mena from CDC.

Mississippi had the highest number of cases of gonorrhea in USA, based on the 2021 data, while Alaska experienced a significant rise in the number of chlamydia cases, which pushed it to the top of the list, surpassing Mississippi. South Dakota had the highest number of cases of early-stage syphilis.

Arizona had a distressing record of having the highest number of cases where expectant mothers transmitted syphilis to their newborn babies, which could result in severe health issues, such as deafness, blindness, or even the death of the infant.