In a first, CDC to recommend antibiotic pill after sex for some to prevent sexually transmitted infections

Doctors should weigh prescribing some of their patients a pill of a powerful antibiotic, doxycycline, to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections, according to new draft recommendations released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials say the approach, dubbed doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, or Doxy-PEP for short, could mark a turning point in the nation's fight against the ongoing epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.

It comes after growing early research has found that doxycycline could prevent bacterial infections from taking root when taken in the days soon after potential exposure during sex, instead of reserving pills of the antibiotic only for doctors treating diseases after they are diagnosed.