NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Alarmed by yet another jump in syphilis cases in newborns, U.S. health officials are calling for stepped-up prevention measures, including encouraging millions of women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for the sexually transmitted disease.
More than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022 \u2014 10 times more than a decade ago and a 32% increase from 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. Syphilis caused 282 stillbirth and infant deaths, nearly 16 times more than the 2012 deaths.
The 2022 count was the most in more than 30 years, CDC officials said, and in more than half of the congenital syphilis cases, the mothers tested positive during pregnancy but did not get properly treated.
The rise in congenital syphilis comes despite repeated warnings by public health agencies and it\u2019s tied to the surge in primary and secondary cases of syphilis in adults, CDC officials said. It\u2019s also been increasingly difficult for medical providers to get benzathine penicillin injections \u2014 the main medical weapon against congenital syphilis \u2014 because of supply shortages.
\u201cIt is clear that something is not working here, that something has to change,\u201d the CDC\u2019s Dr. Laura Bachmann said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re calling for exceptional measures to address this heartbreaking epidemic\u201d
The federal agency wants medical providers to start syphilis treatment when a pregnant woman first tests positive, rather than waiting for confirmatory testing, and to expand access to transportation so the women can get treatment. The CDC also called for rapid tests to be made available beyond doctors\u2019 offices and STD clinics to places like emergency rooms, needle-exchange programs and prisons and jails.
Federal officials again advised sexually active women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for syphilis test at least once if they live in a county with high rates. According to a new CDC map and definition, 70% of U.S. adults live in a county with high rates. That\u2019s likely tens of millions of people, according to an Associated Press estimate based on federal data.
The CDC\u2019s recommendations are just that; there is no new federal money going out to state and local health departments to bolster testing or access. Some state health departments have already said they\u2019re stretched thin when it comes to treatment and prevention, though Illinois announced last week it was starting a phone line for health care providers to help with record searching, consultation and assistance with mandatory reporting.
Syphilis is a bacterial infection that for centuries was a common but feared sexually transmitted disease. New infections plummeted in the U.S. starting in the 1940s when antibiotics became widely available and fell to their lowest mark in the late 1990s. By 2002, cases began rising again, with men who have sex with other men being disproportionately affected, though the STD is spreading among several demographics.
In congenital syphilis, moms pass the disease on to their babies, potentially leading to death of the child or health problems for the child like deafness, blindness, and malformed bones. Case rates have been rising across racial and ethnic groups.
Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said syphilis can be \u201ca silent infection\u201d in women because it\u2019s tricky to diagnose without a blood test \u2014 not everyone gets painless sores, wart-like lesions or other visible symptoms.
The CDC has long recommended that all pregnant women should be tested for syphilis at their first prenatal visit, but poor access to prenatal care \u2014 largely in rural areas of the U.S. \u2014 can make that difficult. Nearly 40% of last year\u2019s congenital syphilis cases involved mothers who didn\u2019t have prenatal care, the CDC said.
If syphilis is diagnosed early in a pregnancy, the threat of passing it to the baby can be removed by a single penicillin shot. But experts say the later you get into pregnancy, the more likely you\u2019ll need multiple shots, and they have to be completed at least 30 days before delivery.
\u201cI have had patients who have been on (a three-shot) regimen who then miss a shot,\u201d said Dr. Nina Ragunanthan, an OB\/GYN at the Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. \u201cSo they are trying to get their shots, but if they don\u2019t get the three in a row, because of transportation issues, because of job issues, child care issues, any number of reasons that prevent them from coming back, they don\u2019t complete their treatment.\u201d
Plus, the shortage of shots makes the task of getting syphilis numbers down difficult, health officials across the U.S. told the AP. Patients who are not pregnant can use the antibiotic doxycycline to treat syphilis, but health officials are concerned that the 14- to 28-day timeline of treatment is difficult to complete, leaving infected people uncured.
Pfizer is the nation\u2019s sole supplier of the penicillin shot. Earlier this year, company officials said it was in short supply because of increased demand. Pfizer also said the shortage may not be resolved until next year.
The CDC said the shortage didn\u2019t affect the 2022 congenital syphilis case numbers and that, despite the shortage, it isn\u2019t aware of patients not getting their needed shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n