CDC warns of alarming increase in syphilis cases in newborns during the last decade
According to the CDC, pregnant women should be tested regularly for syphilis because syphilis infection can cause serious problems in the baby.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that more than 3,700 babies were born with syphilis in 2022, more than 10 times more than in 2012. The increase in syphilis in newborns follows the increase in cases of this disease among women of reproductive age, combined with social and economic factors that create barriers to high-quality prenatal care and the continued decline of infrastructure and prevention resources.
In other words, the 2022 case count is the highest in more than 30 years, CDC officials said.
“The congenital syphilis crisis in the United States has escalated at a heartbreaking pace,” said Dr. Debra Houry, CDC medical director, “New actions are needed to prevent more family tragedies. “We call on healthcare providers, public health systems and communities to take additional steps to connect mothers and babies to the care they need.”
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that can be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy. It has the potential to cause tragic outcomes, including miscarriages, stillbirths, infant deaths, and lifelong medical problems.
According to official information, the 3,761 cases of congenital syphilis reported in 2022 included 231 stillbirths and 51 babies who died in infancy, the CDC said.
Lack of timely testing and adequate treatment were factors in 88% of congenital syphilis cases in the United States, the report found. With testing and treatment, authorities estimated that nearly 9 in 10 cases of neonatal syphilis in 2022 could have been prevented.
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Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established that people from racial and ethnic minority groups are suffering the brunt of the neonatal syphilis epidemic.
While cases of neonatal syphilis are increasing overall, babies born to Black, Hispanic, or American Indian/Alaska Native mothers were up to 8 times more likely to have newborn syphilis in 2021 than babies born to white mothers.
These disparities arise from decades of deeply entrenched social determinants of health that create greater barriers to quality healthcare services and result in health inequities, such as higher rates of syphilis in some communities.
Given the situation, Dr. Laura Bachmann, medical director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, said that a combination of individual and systemic barriers to testing and treatment resulted in lost prevention opportunities.
“These barriers may include lack of continued health coverage, living in health care or maternity care deserts, transportation limitations, challenges posed by substance use disorder, housing instability, poverty and racism,” she said.
