Los Angeles County Officials Told That Gay & Lesbian Center Provided Incorrect Medication to Syphilis Patients

Officials for Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center on Friday informed Los Angeles County Department of Health Services officials that over the past five years, the center had administered improper medication to about 300 individuals with syphilis, the Los Angeles Times reports. The individuals received bicillin C-R, which contains only half the dose of bicillin L-A that CDC recommends to treat syphilis, rather than bicillin L-A. GLC Chief Operating Officer Darrel Cummings said that the center has begun to notify individuals who may have received improper medication. "This drug looks identical and has the same name, with the exception of two letters, so in some ways you can understand how this mistake can be made," Cummings said. According to GLC officials, individuals who received medication for syphilis from the center between 1999 and March 2004 should return for additional tests and potentially additional treatment because those who received bicillin C-R may still have the disease. Dr. Peter Kerndt, director of the county Sexually Transmitted Disease Program, said that a survey of 13 county syphilis treatment locations found no such medications errors (Richardson, Los Angeles Times, 3/20).