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Tag: Syphilis

 

Prevention vs. resistance: The doxyPEP dilemma

 February 18, 2025 •  By Kevin Woodward

It seems that everyone is taking doxyPEP now. Every day in my clinic, people ask me about it, often conflating it with HIV PrEP. Many believe that if they are on doxyPEP, worrying about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) will be a thing of the past. DoxyPEP involves taking an antibiotic called doxycycline after sex to help prevent bacterial STIs and has been primarily studied in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM), as well as trans women. What we know from these studies is that there is a benefit for individuals, specifically gbMSM and trans women,...

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Doxy-PEP for syphilis prevention: What is it, does it work and how can we overcome barriers to access?

 February 13, 2024 •  By Brook Biggin

For years, gay, bisexual, trans, Two-Spirit and queer (GBT2Q) communities have been experiencing unacceptably high rates of syphilis with limited action taken by others outside the work of community-based sexual health organizations. However, provincial and federal responses have been stoked due to an increase in heterosexual transmission and a rise in cases of babies born with syphilis, also known as congenital syphilis. When acquired by a fetus during pregnancy, syphilis can result in miscarriage, stillbirth or permanent disability of the newborn. Consequently, efforts to leverage innovative syphilis interventions have accelerated, alongside interest in new prevention options for GBT2Q men. One...

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