Infants born with syphilis at the age of 20

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) – The number of newborns with syphilis has nearly tripled in recent years, US health officials said Tuesday.

Cases increased from 362 in 2013 to 918 in 2017, the highest number in 20 years. Cases have been observed in 37 states, mainly in the west and south.

"We have seen an increase in syphilis in women of childbearing age, and it is not surprising that we are seeing an increase in pregnant women," said Dr. Gail Bolan, director of the prevention division STDs at the Centers for Disease. Control and Prevention.

There is no simple answer to the reason for these increases, she added. Syphilis has long been associated with poverty, drug addiction, homelessness and incarceration, Bolan said.

In addition, the health system does not trust, syphilis increases, she noted.

"It's these socio-economic factors, where the fabric of our society is actually crumbling, and women who have babies with syphilis are really lagging behind," Bolan said.

The increase in the number of infants with the disease echoes the increase in cases of syphilis in women of childbearing age, according to the agency. And syphilis surpasses the rise of other sexually transmitted diseases in the country, according to the report. The results were published on September 25 in the CDC Surveillance report of sexually transmitted diseases.

Most women who give birth to babies infected with syphilis have not received prenatal care, said Bolan. The law requires all women to be tested for syphilis at their first antenatal examination, she explained.

Bolan also said that women at high risk of syphilis should be tested again in the third trimester. When the disease is detected early, a simple injection of penicillin can cure the mother and the fetus, she said.

Without treatment, an infected woman has an 80% chance of passing the infection to her child, according to the CDC. When a child is born with syphilis, it can be cured, but the risk of organ damage that can lead to deafness and delayed development is already underway, Bolan said.