April 27, 2023 – With syphilis cases on the rise and the penicillin used to treat it in brief supply, the FDA has added a typical variety of the drug – penicillin G benzathine, an antibiotic sold by Pfizer – to its list of approved drugs. his list of deficienciesThe FDA says Pfizer has limited supply because of increased demand.
Bloomberg reports that this penicillin can be effective against throat infections, that are spreading more widely than usual within the USA, based on the CDC.
Other drugs are also used to treat streptococci, but this drug is the usual drug for treating syphilis, based on Bloomberg.
In an emailed statement, the FDA said the increased demand for the drug was because of increases in strep throat and syphilis.
According to the CDC, the syphilis rate within the country is at its highest since 1990—in 2021 it’s 32% higher than the 12 months before. Other sexually transmitted diseases are also increasing.
According to the World Health Organization, shortages of penicillin are common all over the world. This shortage is especially dangerous for babies, as they will grow to be infected with syphilis before birth. Penicillin may be used to treat these diseases, but other antibiotics cannot.
According to the CDC, the disease caused a minimum of 220 stillbirths and infant deaths within the United States in 2021, a forty five% increase from 2020.
“If you're pregnant and have syphilis, this is the treatment of choice,” said Erin Fox of the University of Utah. “You can't use anything else.”
According to the FDA, Pfizer is the one company that sells the drug within the United States.
Last month, a congressional committee held a hearing on the drug shortage, which also affects other antibiotics in addition to drugs used to treat patients with cancer and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.