美国国家公共电台 NPR--A new approach to curbing sexually transmitted infections gains interest

A new approach to curbing² sexually transmitted infections gains interest

Transcript³

Research shows taking a certain antibiotic⁴ after sex can significantly reduce the risk of getting sexually transmitted infections. It is seen as a promising⁵ approach to curb¹ the nation's STI epidemic⁶.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Doctors have some advice for people who may be at risk for sexually transmitted infections. On any given day, 1 in 5 Americans has an STI. NPR's Will Stone reports on what to do.

WILL STONE, BYLINE⁷: This next chapter in STI prevention comes down to a common run-of-the-mill antibiotic called doxycycline. It's already used to treat infections, including some STIs. The difference here is when you take it. Instead of waiting to be diagnosed with an STI, the medication is given out ahead of time so people can take it right after having unprotected sex. This approach is known as post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP. So in this case, with doxycycline, it's doxy-PEP.

ANNIE LUETKEMEYER: We saw that this was safe. We saw that it was well tolerated. We saw that it reduced sexually transmitted infections.

STONE: That's Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer at the University of California, San Francisco. Luetkemeyer helped run a major clinical trial on doxy-PEP. It showed that those who took doxycycline 24 to 72 hours after sex without a condom had a 65% reduction in STIs, specifically syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea. And Luetkemeyer says this builds on other promising results from Europe.

STONE: It's not 100% whether there really are consistent reductions across the board.

STONE: So far research on doxy-PEP has focused on men who have sex with men and transgender women. Those in Luetkemeyer's study either had an HIV diagnosis⁸ or were taking the HIV prevention drug PrEP and had a history of STIs.

LUETKEMEYER: Our study does not inform everybody in the U.S. It informs a group of people who already had an elevated risk of sexually transmitted infections.

STONE: But she says in time, doxy-PEP could be used more broadly, regardless of someone's sexual orientation⁹.

LUETKEMEYER: It's very reasonable to think about this for just men in general who are at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections.

STONE: The evidence doesn't yet support doing this for most women, though. A recent clinical trial had women in Kenya take doxy-PEP. Here's Dr. Jenell Stewart at Hennepin Healthcare.

JENELL STEWART: Unfortunately, in our study, we saw no reduction in STIs.

STONE: But Stewart says this is not the final word, and more research is needed.

STEWART: There's a clear need for STI prevention. And so it's incredibly disappointing that we don't have a solution to offer them right now.

STONE: Even so, health leaders are feeling optimistic about doxy-PEP. Dr. Leandro Mena leads STD prevention at the CDC.

LEANDRO MENA: We recognize that more tools are needed given the increased burden of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis infection in the U.S.

STONE: He says the CDC is hoping to release guidance on doxy-PEP by the end of the summer, but some aren't waiting for that. Dr. Oliver Bacon works at the San Francisco City Clinic. He helped craft San Francisco's guidance for doxy-PEP and is now offering it to some of his patients.

OLIVER BACON: I would say interest has been very high.

STONE: Turns out people were already taking doxycycline on their own and not always in the ideal way.

BACON: They were just taking doxy randomly¹⁰. I mean, it was sort of like doxy anarchy¹¹ out there. And we don't want that to happen. That's not good for anybody. It doesn't treat the problem, and it certainly doesn't help issues of antibiotic resistance.

STONE: And that's the biggest hangup with doxy-PEP - what could it mean for antibiotic resistance? The clinical trial in the U.S. tried to get at this by looking for signs of increased resistance among those who took doxy-PEP. One concern was MRSA, a nasty bacteria that's sometimes treated with doxycycline. But there the researchers didn't find any worrying evidence. And surprisingly, doxy-PEP worked pretty well at curbing gonorrhea, even though many cases of gonorrhea are resistant¹² to the class of antibiotics¹³ that doxycycline is a part of. Dr. Edward Hook, who's at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, says there's no STI pathogen with a greater propensity¹⁴ to develop resistance than gonorrhea.

EDWARD HOOK: I think it's reasonable to assume resistance rates for gonorrhea in particular will increase.

STONE: But Hook points out this well-known resistance is why other antibiotics are used for gonorrhea, and he's excited about doxy-PEP's potential.

HOOK: What we've been trying to do and our efforts to control STIs for the last 50 years have not succeeded. It's time to do something different.

STONE: And if the solution can be found in a cheap and widely available drug, all the better.

Will Stone, NPR News.

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

9 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

10 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

11 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

12 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

13 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

14 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。