A ‘morning after pill’ could reduce rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), new research shows.
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 have called for the drug to be made more available across the UK and US.
In the UK, health chiefs are currently refusing to offer it, while in the US it is only available to high-risk groups such as men who have sex with men and trans women.
Researchers suggested the pill could be a vital new weapon in the fight against the rise of STIs, if it is unlikely to affect antimicrobial resistance.
STI rates have increased in recent years, and changes in sexual behaviors and resistance to treatment are thought to be behind the increase.
Rising divorce rates, the emergence of Viagra, dating apps, and the growth of retirement communities have caused STI rates to skyrocket among baby boomers in recent years.
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 drug’s potential with STIs, researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in the US gave it to 2,253 people already taking HIV preventive medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis ( PrEP).
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.
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Lead author Dr. Michael Traeger said he was “excited” by 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.”