How a 50-year-old antibiotic may help tackle Canada’s growing STI problem
Global News
Doxycycline is an antibiotic that has been sold for more than 50 years. Health officials are now studying its effectiveness in preventing certain sexually transmitted infections.
Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are on the rise in Canada, but a growing number of research shows that taking a particular antibiotic drug after sex may help prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The antibiotic drug doxycycline has been on the market for more than 50 years and has been typically used to treat skin infections; however, experts say it can also be used as a ‘morning-after pill’ to prevent STIs.
Some physicians are starting to prescribe the antibiotic to patients as a preventative tool against STIs, according to Dr. Troy Grennan, physician lead for the Provincial HIV/STI Program at the BC Centre for Disease Control.
“I have patients taking it as an intervention and several colleagues who have patients on this,” he said. “And these are patients who really do qualify for this; they’ve perhaps struggled with several infections over the course of a year and are really looking to be proactive in their health.”
When a doctor in Canada does prescribe doxycycline as a prevention tool for STIs, Grennan said it will be used off-label, as it is not an approved Health Canada approved indication.
The efficacy of doxycycline as a prevention tool for STIs has been researched since 2015, he said, and there have been several studies since then showing the drug’s success.
The latest study, published on April 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed the drug’s potential to prevent STIs among men who have sex with men and transgender women.
“Doxycycline made the most sense for several reasons. One, it’s inexpensive and has a long safety profile,” explained Connie Celum, a professor of global health and medicine at the University of Washington and study author.
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