Intended Audience:
- Healthcare professionals looking for a syphilis public education resource
- Community educators looking for a syphilis community education resource
- People who are sexually active with multiple partners who want to learn more about syphilis
- People in general who want to learn more about syphilis
In this second blog post of the series, we define and visualize periods of treatment of syphilis.
Upon a diagnosis of syphilis through testing, a person would be given antibiotic medication which would start the TREATMENT PERIOD. It is the length of time between when the antibiotic medication is first administered to when the person is clear of infection.
There are two antibiotic options for syphilis treatment: Bicillin and Doxycycline.
Bicillin, also known as penicillin G benzathine, is a long-acting injection and is the preferred antibiotic treatment for syphilis. If a syphilis infection has been present for less than one year, then one dose of Bicillin is adequate as treatment. One dose of Bicillin consists of two intramuscular injections into the hip or buttock muscle given together in the same visit. A person who is being treated with one dose of Bicillin should wait for seven days before engaging in sexual activity or as advised by a healthcare provider.
If a syphilis infection has been present for more than one year, or for an unknown length of time, then three doses are needed (given once a week for three weeks). A person who is being treated with three doses of Bicillin should wait seven days after the first dose before engaging in sexual activity or as advised by a healthcare provider.
If a syphilis infection has been present for less than one year, then 14 days of doxycycline treatment is adequate as treatment. If a syphilis infection has been present for more than one year, or for an unknown length of time, then 28 days of doxycycline treatment is needed. A person who is being treated with either 14 or 28 days of doxycycline, it is recommended that the person abstain from sexual activity until 14 days of doxycycline treatment has been completed or as advised by a healthcare provider.
Doxycycline can also be used as a prevention measure. Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (DoxyPEP) means taking the antibiotic after a sexual encounter where exposure may have occurred to prevent the syphilis bacteria from incubating into an infection. There is emerging evidence to support the efficacy of DoxyPEP in reducing syphilis infections. Consult a healthcare provider for more information.
Read about the Blog Series Introduction.
Read about Part 1: Key Periods for Diagnosing Syphilis
Stay tuned for Part 3.
To learn some basics of syphilis:
BC Centre for Disease Control Health Info
BC Syphilis Action Plan Refresh, 2023-2025
Interesting reads related to syphilis:
Research Update: Rapid HIV and syphilis test now approved for clinical use
The BCCDC Position Statement on Doxycycline as Prophylaxis for Sexually Transmitted Infections
CATIE Webinar – Doxy-PEP and doxy-PrEP: Pill to prevent syphilis
CATIE News – Study finds some people with HIV are at greater risk for STI’s
Questions? Get in touch:
Monte Strong, Research and Evaluation Assistant: monte [at] paninbc.ca