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DoxyPEP is becoming less effective against gonorrhea as antibiotic resistance rises, even as protection against chlamydia and syphilis remains durable, according to study results published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. “We report a rapid loss of effectiveness of doxycycline PEP for prevention of gonorrhea in male individuals living with HIV or receiving HIV PrEP or PEP in Southern California,” the authors wrote, noting that their findings might merit revision of guidelines recommending doxyPEP for gonorrhea prevention. DoxyPEP refers to taking a single dose of doxycycline—an antibiotic related to tetracycline—as post-exposure prophylaxis within 72 hours after sex to prevent sexually transmitted...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued its first proposed guidelines for using the antibiotic doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs), an approach known as doxyPEP. The guidelines, published in the Federal Register on October 2, will be open for public comment for 45 days. “Doxy PEP is moving STI prevention efforts into the 21st century,” Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement. “We need game-changing innovations to turn the STI epidemic around, and this is a major...