Health News
2005-09-29
Pills may
successfully treat syphilis
Although an
injection with the antibiotic penicillin is the preferred
method of treating the sexually transmitted disease
syphi
Although an
injection with the antibiotic penicillin is the preferred
method of treating the sexually transmitted disease
syphilis, a single oral dose of the antibiotic
azithromycin may be just as effective in curing the
disease, researchers report in the New England
Journal of Medicine. A study of syphilis patients in
Tanzania showed that the cure rate for those treated
with a single shot of penicillin was 95%, and was 98%
in those receiving the oral antibiotic.
Although
penicillin is likely to remain the standard of treatment in
the United States and other Western nations,
azithromycin could be a useful alternative for
patients allergic to penicillin and for use in developing
countries where there is often a shortage of sterile needles
and trained health care workers to administer
injections.
Azithromycin
treatment for syphilis is currently being studied in four
U.S. cities and in Madagascar. (Advocate.com)
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