Targeted mass treatment for syphilis with oral azithromycin

From mid 1997 to end of 1999, there was a sexually-transmitted infectious syphilis outbreak mainly in heterosexual people in British Columbia, Canada, that was concentrated in Vancouver. The rate across the province increased from less than 0·5 to 3·4 per 100 000, and the rate in Vancouver reached 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2003-01, Vol.361 (9354), p.313-314
Main Authors: Rekart, Michael L, Patrick, David M, Chakraborty, Bubli, Maginley, Juanita JL, Jones, HD, Bajdik, Chris D, Pourbohloul, Babak, Brunham, Robert C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents - adverse effects
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Antibacterial agents
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Azithromycin
Azithromycin - adverse effects
Azithromycin - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
British Columbia - epidemiology
Curve fitting
Daly, John
Data collection
Disease Outbreaks - prevention & control
Disease prevention
Drug dosages
Drug therapy
Female
Health risks
Humans
Intervention
Male
Medical sciences
Montgomery, Ann
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Outbreaks
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Preventive Health Services - methods
Preventive Health Services - organization & administration
Public health
Sex industry
Sexually transmitted diseases
STD
Streptococcus infections
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Sutherland, Donald
Syphilis
Syphilis - epidemiology
Syphilis - prevention & control
Urban Population
Wong, Linda
Workers
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Summary:From mid 1997 to end of 1999, there was a sexually-transmitted infectious syphilis outbreak mainly in heterosexual people in British Columbia, Canada, that was concentrated in Vancouver. The rate across the province increased from less than 0·5 to 3·4 per 100 000, and the rate in Vancouver reached 12·9 per 100 000. We aimed to eliminate the syphillis outbreak by treating people at risk of infection. In 2000, a targeted mass treatment programme provided azithromycin (1·8 g orally) to 4384 at-risk residents in this city. After the programme, syphilis frequency fell significantly for 6 months (p=0·016), but rose again in 2001. Results from curve fitting analyses showed that the number of cases in 2001 (177) was higher than expected (0·0001
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12335-5