New research shows a ‘morning after pill’ could reduce rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Those who took the common antibiotic, doxycycline, within 72 hours of having sex reduced their chances of contracting syphilis and chlamydia by up to 80 percent.
Experts suggested it could be a vital new weapon in the fight against the rise of STIs, if it is unlikely to affect antimicrobial resistance.
Rates of STIs have increased in recent years in the United Kingdom and the United States, and changes in sexual behaviors and resistance to treatment are thought to be behind this increase.
Rising divorce rates, the emergence of erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra, dating apps and the growth of retirement villages have led to a rise in infections in the middle-aged and older groups.
Concerns have also been raised about children copying what they see in pornography, which they freely access on their mobile phones.
The trend has led to calls for new strategies to address poor sexual health, particularly among older generations who may have missed out on safe sex education.
In the first ‘real world’ study of the potential of doxycyclines as STI prevention, researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in the US administered it to 2,253 people already taking HIV preventive medication, pre-test prophylaxis. exposure (PrEP).
Those who took the common antibiotic, doxycycline, within 72 hours of having sex reduced their chances of contracting syphilis and chlamydia by up to 80 percent.
They looked at STI test results before and after taking the pills, also known as doxyPEP, to understand how it may have affected the risk of contracting STIs.
They found that incidence decreased by 79 percent for chlamydia, 80 percent for syphilis and 12 percent for gonorrhea, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Doxycycline, which costs just a few pence, is given on the NHS to people to treat bacterial conditions such as chest and dental infections, as well as STIs, syphilis and chlamydia, once they have an infection.
It is still not used in the UK as a preventive treatment, despite growing noise surrounding it as a viable option for reducing STIs.
UK sexual health chiefs were said to be considering guidance but are concerned about the possibility of drug-resistant strains of infections emerging if antibiotics are used more widely.
401,800 new STIs were diagnosed in England last year, 4.7 percent more than the 383,789 in 2022, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
The sharpest year-on-year increase was among 13- and 14-year-olds, where the number rose by almost a fifth (19.5 percent) to 459.
Pensioners aged 65 and over followed, with an 18.2 per cent increase in new cases, to 2,885.
The graph above shows the rate per 100,000 people of the total number of syphilis cases recorded in the US since the 1940s. It reveals that they are starting to improve again.
The two maps show how the rate of syphilis cases has changed in the US since 2013.
Syphilis cases are at the highest level since 1948, with 9,513 cases diagnosed last year.
While the majority of cases occurred in gay men, the UKHSA said there was a larger “proportionate increase” in syphilis diagnoses among heterosexual men and women.
In 2023, 1,958 cases were diagnosed among heterosexual men and women, an increase of 22 percent compared to 2022, when there were 1,608 cases.
Among gay men, cases increased by seven percent between 2022 and 2023.
And a major syphilis outbreak is hitting the United States, with cases reaching their highest level since the 1950s, official data show.
An annual report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year showed that 207,300 cases of STDs, which can cause sores on the genitals and mouth, were diagnosed nationwide in 2022, the last year available.
That marked a 17 percent increase in one year and an 83 percent increase compared to five years ago.
The data also shows a 30 percent increase in cases of congenital syphilis (when the mother passes the disease to her baby), which is of particular concern because it puts them at risk of stillbirth and birth defects.
Norwich has been named as the UK’s hotspot for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), chlamydia, gonorrhea and genital warts, new analysis shows.
Rates of STIs have increased in recent years in the United Kingdom and the United States, and changes in sexual behaviors and resistance to treatment are thought to be behind the rise.
They looked at STI test results before and after taking doxycycline, also known as doxyPEP, to understand how it may have affected the risk of getting STIs.
The lead author of the new doxyPEP study, Dr. Michael Traeger, said he was “excited” by the findings showing its potential effectiveness outside the clinical setting.
“Interventions that are effective in clinical trials don’t always end up working in real-world settings, where people tend to face more barriers to consistent medication use,” he said.
Dr Julia Marcus, lead author of the study, said: “We know there are still important questions to be answered about doxyPEP, including its effects on antimicrobial resistance.”
“Meanwhile, our study suggests that broader implementation of doxyPEP could have enormous benefits in reducing STI transmission and improving sexual health.”
Despite hopes of preventing syphilis and chlamydia, experts say gonorrhea, which can cause pain, discharge and infertility, is almost completely resistant to doxycycline.
Last year, 85,223 cases of gonorrhea were diagnosed, the highest number since records began in 1918.
Chlamydia accounted for almost half of all new STIs detected in the UK, with 194,970 diagnosed in 2023.
There were also 27,167 first episodes of genital herpes and 26,133 new genital warts.
Despite this, new STI diagnoses remain below pre-pandemic levels, with 468,139 registered in 2019.