Should I be worried about antibiotic resistance if I’m taking doxycycline frequently?

Anytime someone is taking an antibiotic for any reason, resistance is always something that should be considered. Resistance can happen for a number of different reasons, but generally results from bacteria developing the ability to survive in the presence of antibiotics that would normally kill them, or stop their growth. From the many studies that have been published on doxycycline in the last few decades, there hasn’t been very much information on resistance developing. Our team recently completed a systematic review of the research literature, and we did note that some studies indicate that resistance may develop in some commensal bacteria (i.e. bacteria that may normally be found on or in the body) on the skin, in the mouth, and in the stomach/bowels, but it’s unclear how long this lasts or how severe it is.

Our research team is committed to comprehensively monitoring for the development of antibiotic resistance in all DISCO study participants. We have several measures incorporated into our study activities which will be regularly assessing for possible development of resistance in both commensal bacteria, and STI bacteria.