NC Medicaid will cover alternative treatment for syphilis
This 1966 microscope photo made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a tissue sample with the presence of the bacterium responsible for causing syphilis. (Skip Van Orden/CDC via AP)
North Carolina health officials say they will increase access to an alternative treatment for syphilis.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, NC Medicaid will now cover the cost of Extencilline for use in treating syphilis and congenital syphilis.
This comes as the state is seeing a sharp rise in cases.
Officials say Extencilline is more in demand amid an ongoing national shortage of penicillin normally used as a first-line treatment for the disease.
State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson released a statement noting that congenital syphilis infections are the highest they’ve been in nearly two decades, resulting in more lifelong health impacts and infant deaths.
She says the state remains committed to protecting residents through early detection and rapid treatment of infection.
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