According to the CDC, more babies are born with syphilis

The number of babies born with syphilis has doubled since 2013 and reached its highest level in 20 years, health officials said Tuesday.

More than 900 American babies are born infected with syphilis in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

It is easy to cure a syphilis infection with antibiotics, but sexually transmitted infections often do not cause immediate symptoms and people may not know it.

He can kill babies, though. According to the CDC, 40% of babies infected with syphilis are stillborn or die shortly after birth. Others are born prematurely.

Those who survive can develop deformed bones, severe anemia, meningitis, blindness and deafness.

"No parent should bear the death of a child when it could have been avoided with a simple test and safe treatment," said CDC's Jonathan Mermin in a statement.

There is an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States, with record rates. Syphilis cases, in particular, nearly doubled in 2017, says the CDC.

A pregnant woman with syphilis has up to an 80% chance of passing it on to her baby, the CDC said.

"To protect every baby, we need to start protecting every mother," said Dr. Gail Bolan, director of CDC's STD prevention division.

"Early detection and prompt treatment to cure any infection are crucial first steps, but too many women are not up to the system," Bolan said. "If we want to reverse the resurgence of congenital syphilis, it must change."

In the United States, women often do not have access to health care, which is a particular risk when they are pregnant. According to the latest Census Bureau figures, almost 9% of the population does not have health insurance coverage.

Medicaid, the federal health insurance scheme for low-income people, is supposed to cover pregnant women. The same is true for policies under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

A CDC team found that in 2016, 15% of US women had received inadequate antenatal care. Only 77% of American women received prenatal care in the first trimester.

Other CDC research shows that one in three women who gave birth to a baby with syphilis in 2016 had been tested at least once for syphilis during pregnancy, but had been infected after the test or had not been treated in time to protect the baby.

"Women at high risk of syphilis or living in high prevalence areas should be tested not only during the first antenatal visit, but also at the beginning of the third trimester and at delivery," said the CDC.

According to new data, Louisiana had the highest rate of births affected by syphilis: 93 cases per 100,000 births, the CDC team found. Mississippi had the lowest rate, at 2.6 cases per 100,000 births.

The cuts in funding for public health programs are to blame, at least in part, said the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

"With cuts in public health budgets, it is not surprising that we are seeing a rate hike," said Michael Fraser, CEO of the association, in a statement.

"What we hear from states is that the unfortunate increase in the number of cases of congenital syphilis is largely related to the decrease in funding for basic work for STD prevention. These statistics remind us that we need to support public health funding – we know what we need to do, we just need the resources to do it.