The CDC released 2017 syphilis surveillance data Sept. 25, which shows an increase in syphilis rates among women of childbearing age, prompting healthcare authorities to emphasize the importance of STD testing among pregnant women.
Here are three things to know:
1. Congenital syphilis cases surface when a mother passes the bacteria to her baby while in utero or during delivery. Congenital syphilis potentially can lead to stillbirth, premature birth or death of the newborn. Babies born with syphilis can have neurological problems and may go blind or deaf. If left untreated, syphilis transmission from mother to baby occurs in about 80 percent of pregnancies. About 40 percent of untreated cases end in stillbirth or the baby's death. Syphilis is treatable with penicillin, which leads health authorities to stress pregnant women be tested for syphilis at their first prenatal appointment.
2. In 2017, there were 918 reported cases of congenital syphilis compared to just 362 cases reported in 2013. The 2017 tally marked the highest level of syphilis cases in 20 years. Thirty-seven states reported cases of congenital syphilis, with Louisiana, Nevada, California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Maryland having higher rates than the national average.
3. Many physicians do not have much experience recognizing syphilis, according to Sarah Kidd, MD, medical officer at the CDC's division of STD prevention . Syphilis has similar symptoms to other diseases and circulated at low rates in the 2000's, so many medical training programs did not highlight the disease.
"[Clinicians] need to be aware that syphilis is back," Dr. Kidd told STAT. "Really the key is trying to identify infected women as early as possible in their pregnancies and treat them without any delays."