In October 1948, Eagle1 reported the results of a study
conducted in a Naval activity which showed that 100,000 to
250,000 units of penicillin by mouth, taken after exposure to
venereal disease, would reduce the incidence of gonorrhea by 85
per cent or more. Following the publication of this report came
strong pressure for general adoption of this measure. A second
study conducted in the Navy2 indicated that the prophylactic
effect of orally administered penicillin on gonorrhea diminished
fairly rapidly with the increase of time between exposure and
ingestion of the penicillin. After an elapsed time averaging
fifteen hours between exposure and prophylaxis, the efficacy of
the measure apparently dropped to less than 50 per cent. The
Navy does not contemplate general adoption of this prophylactic
measure against venereal disease. First, the method will
presumably not protect against chancroid, lymphogranuloma
venereum or granuloma inguinale, diseases which are of