U.S. health officials now recommend that some people consider taking an antibiotic as a morning-after pill to prevent certain sexually transmitted diseases.
NEW YORK – Some people should consider taking an antibiotic as a morning-after pill to try to prevent certain sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. health officials recommended Tuesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its support for taking doxycycline after unprotected sex as a way to prevent infections from chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis.
CDC officials called it the first new prevention tool against sexually transmitted infections in decades and said the innovation is badly needed. Rates of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea have been increasing for years, especially among gay and bisexual men, although the most recent data suggested that cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea stopped increasing in 2022.
The new guideline is specific to gay men, bisexual men, and transgender women who had an STD in the previous year and are at high risk of being reinfected. Studies have shown that doxycycline works in that group, but there is not enough evidence to make the same recommendation for other people, agency officials said.
Officials call the doxy treatment PEP, short for doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis. Doctors can prescribe a 200-milligram dose of doxycycline to be taken within three days of having unprotected sex, the CDC said.
In October, the CDC released a draft version of the guidelines. The proposed language was modified slightly after a public comment period. The changes include clarification that the pills should be taken only once every 24 hours and that doctors should reevaluate the regimen with patients every three to six months.
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