Antibiotic shortages could worsen syphilis epidemic
Main drug used to treat sexually transmitted infection could be in short supply next year, warns Pfizer.
A new shortage of a type of penicillin crucial in the fight against syphilis worries infectious disease experts, who warn that a prolonged shortage of the drug could worsen the American epidemic of sexually transmitted infection.< /p>
The shortage, announced by drugmaker Pfizer in a letter last month, involves Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injectable antibiotic also known as benzathine penicillin G . The company cited significant increases in demand due to the rising rate of syphilis infections, as well as the recent use of Bicillin as an alternative to amoxicillin, another antibiotic that has periodically been in short supply and which is prescribed for more general infections like strep throat.
Steven Danehy, a spokesperson for Pfizer, said it would likely take about a year to the company to increase production by 50% at its plant in Rochester, Michigan, and ultimately manufacture enough Bicillin to meet demand and build supplies.
Syphilis has been on the rise in the United States since 2000, reaching 176,713 cases in 2021, an increase of nearly 75 percent since 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Congenital syphilis tripled over this four-year period, to 2,855 cases, including 220 stillbirths or infant deaths. Rates are highest in infants of Native American, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Black mothers.
Bicillin is the only recommended treatment for infected pregnant women and is very effective in preventing transmission to the fetus if given early enough. Congenital syphilis has a high mortality rate and can lead to premature birth and serious birth defects.
"It worries me that these mothers do not have access to lifesaving drugs,” Dr. Anita Henderson, a pediatrician in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said. The state has seen steep increases in the rate of congenital syphilis over the past five years, she said.
Among adult syphilis cases , almost a quarter are women; just under a third are men who only have sex with men; and about a fifth are in men who only have sex with women.
The infection can cause sores and a rash and, if it left untreated, can cause serious damage to internal organs, the nervous system, eyes and ears, and can be fatal.
Pfizer has also warned that its supply in a rarely used pediatric version of Bicillin would soon be sold out because the company had started using the production line of this drug to augment the adult formula. Doctors have turned to it over the past year instead of amoxicillin during an increase in the number of strep throat cases.
Bicillin is also used to manage rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever. , which are particular, although infrequent, risks to the health of children. Several antibiotic alternatives are available for these conditions, according to Dr. Meg Doherty, Global Director of HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections...
Main drug used to treat sexually transmitted infection could be in short supply next year, warns Pfizer.
A new shortage of a type of penicillin crucial in the fight against syphilis worries infectious disease experts, who warn that a prolonged shortage of the drug could worsen the American epidemic of sexually transmitted infection.< /p>
The shortage, announced by drugmaker Pfizer in a letter last month, involves Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injectable antibiotic also known as benzathine penicillin G . The company cited significant increases in demand due to the rising rate of syphilis infections, as well as the recent use of Bicillin as an alternative to amoxicillin, another antibiotic that has periodically been in short supply and which is prescribed for more general infections like strep throat.
Steven Danehy, a spokesperson for Pfizer, said it would likely take about a year to the company to increase production by 50% at its plant in Rochester, Michigan, and ultimately manufacture enough Bicillin to meet demand and build supplies.
Syphilis has been on the rise in the United States since 2000, reaching 176,713 cases in 2021, an increase of nearly 75 percent since 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Congenital syphilis tripled over this four-year period, to 2,855 cases, including 220 stillbirths or infant deaths. Rates are highest in infants of Native American, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Black mothers.
Bicillin is the only recommended treatment for infected pregnant women and is very effective in preventing transmission to the fetus if given early enough. Congenital syphilis has a high mortality rate and can lead to premature birth and serious birth defects.
"It worries me that these mothers do not have access to lifesaving drugs,” Dr. Anita Henderson, a pediatrician in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said. The state has seen steep increases in the rate of congenital syphilis over the past five years, she said.
Among adult syphilis cases , almost a quarter are women; just under a third are men who only have sex with men; and about a fifth are in men who only have sex with women.
The infection can cause sores and a rash and, if it left untreated, can cause serious damage to internal organs, the nervous system, eyes and ears, and can be fatal.
Pfizer has also warned that its supply in a rarely used pediatric version of Bicillin would soon be sold out because the company had started using the production line of this drug to augment the adult formula. Doctors have turned to it over the past year instead of amoxicillin during an increase in the number of strep throat cases.
Bicillin is also used to manage rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever. , which are particular, although infrequent, risks to the health of children. Several antibiotic alternatives are available for these conditions, according to Dr. Meg Doherty, Global Director of HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections...
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