New Delhi

A clinical research presented at the 24th International AIDS conference in Montreal, Canada, has claimed that an antibiotic named doxycycline, taken after unprotected sex can drastically reduce the risk of three bacterial Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) viz. syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia among high-risk groups. 

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Reportedly, doxycycline reduced the chance of contracting STDs such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia among men indulging in sex with men by more than 60 per cent. The antibiotic appeared successful against Syphilis as well but not enough cases were present to produce a conclusive result.

The study was carried out on 500 people, mostly homosexual men as well as transgender women and other people from diverse gender groups. To qualify, participants had to have had gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis, in the previous year. Meanwhile, some people in the group were on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills while others were living with HIV.

Two-thirds received 200 mg pills of the doxycycline antibiotic while the rest did not. Participants were encouraged to take as many pills as needed, depending on how much sexual activity they were undertaking.

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In the end, it was revealed that taking the antibiotic reduced the incidence of STDs by 62 per cent in the group living with HIV, and 66 per cent in the group on HIV PrEP.

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A similar study was halted in 2017

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It is pertinent to note that a similar study was halted back in 2017 after the ethical and moral conundrums surrounding the consumption of antibiotics after unprotected sex came to the fore. 

Reportedly, Dr Jean-Michel Molina, head of infectious diseases at Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris, who was the lead author of the study at the time published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, stated that he will never support the long-term use of antibiotics to prevent STDs

“I don’t want this strategy to be used widely in any person. But if you can select a group with a high incidence rate of syphilis or chlamydia, and you want to try to reduce the rate of syphilis quite quickly in this group of people, you may think that this strategy could be used for a couple of months,” Molina said. 

However, researchers in Montreal are taking a positive stride with a touch of caution and looking to roll out the antibiotic with proper guidelines. Researchers have stated that more studies were required to gauge the potential impact of antibiotic resistance, a point previously raised by Dr Jean-Michel Molina.

(With inputs from agencies)

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