A single dose of the new antibiotic azithromycin effectively knocks out nongonococcal urethritis, the most common male sexually transmitted disease in the United States, according to a new study.
School of Medicine researchers, collaborating with scientists at 10 other centers, found the cure rate with a single dose of azithromycin is comparable to a seven-day course of the antibiotic doxycycline. The drugs are used to treat nongonococcal urethritis, reported in more than 3 million cases per year in the United States.
Failure to treat this disease places female sexual partners at risk for ectopic pregnancy and tubal infertility, the UNC researchers say. Untreated patients are at increased risk for transmission and acquisition of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
"Early treatment of nongonococcal urethritis may reduce transmission of HIV infections," said Myron Cohen, professor of medicine and chief of infectious diseases. "Based on this and other studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends azithromycin for first-line treatment for nongonococcal urethritis," Cohen said.
Azithromycin offers the advantage of being given in a single dose so patients are more likely to take it, Cohen said, whereas less than half the patients taking doxycycline finish the treatment. However, the new antibiotic is more expensive than doxycycline.
A report on the study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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