New federal guidelines for preventing sexually transmitted infections published

ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – There is a new way to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Georgia ranks fifth in the country for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

The CDC said Wednesday that it is working with clinics to address the rise in sexually transmitted infections in the Atlanta area and across the country.

New guidelines have been adopted for a pill to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy PEP).

Health authorities hope that this will help curb the rise in sexually transmitted infections.

“A prescription drug that doctors may recommend to certain patients to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said Wednesday. “Importantly, it does not prevent all, but some, of these bacterial sexually transmitted infections.”

According to the CDC, Doxy PEP must be taken within 72 hours of sex to prevent some sexually transmitted infections. The federal agency has said that studies have shown that some people who take the antibiotic within 72 hours of unprotected sex are much less likely to get a sexually transmitted infection.

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