PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The FDA will temporarily allow French imports of a medication to treat syphilis that is not approved in the United States.
The action comes amid an ongoing shortage of the antibiotic bicillin, a form of penicillin, and a rise in syphilis cases across the country.
A drug maker from France has been cleared to send over 3.5 million units of a similar drug called extencilline.
Data from the CDC shows that from 2017 to 2021, reported cases of syphilis in the U.S. jumped about 74 percent.
Cases of congenital syphilis, when a mother with syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy, increased more than 200 percent.
COVID RATES RISING
As expected, holiday gatherings have led to a spike in COVID-cases across the globe.
The World Health Organization said there was a 42 percent jump in hospitalizations last month in nearly 50 countries and about 10,000 people died from the virus.
The new variant JN.1 makes up the majority of the cases.
The World Health Organization said other respiratory illnesses, like the flu and RSV, have also increased and the trend is expected to continue in the coming weeks.
PANDEMIC INCREASED DEMAND FOR ADHD DRUGS
And a new study shows prescriptions for medications to treat ADHD spiked during the pandemic.
The number of new prescriptions for stimulants used for ADHD rose 14 percent in 2020 and 2021.
Scripts for other medications used to treat the disorder rose 32 percent to reach 1.4 million.
The largest increase was seen among women in their 20s and 30s.
The study, published in the Journal JAMA Psychiatry, found that prescriptions for other behavioral health needs like anti-depressants did not change significantly.