Times Colonist

Syphilis in babies surges in U.S.

Cases mostly in South and West

- KEN ALLTUCKER

New cases of babies born with syphilis have surged 154 per cent since 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a trend that highlights the need for mothers to get prenatal care and for the medical community to be vigilant about testing and treating the potentiall­y deadly disease.

The number of babies born with syphilis surged from 362 in 2013 to 918 in 2017, the CDC reported Tuesday. Cases of congenital syphilis occurred in 37 states, mostly in the South and West.

If passed to a newborn, syphilis can cause miscarriag­e, stillbirth or death. Among survivors, it can lead to an assortment of physical and mental health problems for the baby.

The disease can be cured with antibiotic­s, but pregnant women with untreated syphilis face a significan­t risk of passing the infection to their newborn.

David C. Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, called the surge “a systemic failure.”

“We are failing pregnant women in the United States,” he said. “We are seeing almost 1,000 babies born with syphilis that can easily be prevented.”

Harvey said the United States has virtually eradicated HIV transmissi­on from mothers to newborns, in part due to the federal Ryan White Part D program, which funds community programs that provide care to pregnant women with HIV. His organizati­on wants a similar program to prevent the mother-to-newborn transmissi­on of syphilis.

Harvey said pregnant women should be tested for syphilis as early as possible and throughout their pregnancie­s.

According to the CDC, mothers of one in three babies born with syphilis in 2016 were tested during pregnancy. However, those moms either were infected after getting tested or did not get treated in time to prevent passing the infection to the baby.

Last month, preliminar­y figures reported by the CDC showed new cases of the most common treatable sexually transmitte­d diseases — chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis — spiked nearly 10 per cent in 2017 to an all-time high.

These infectious diseases have continued a four-year climb; experts cite changing sexual behaviour and a lack of awareness.

 ??  ?? David Harvey: “We are failing pregnant women.”
David Harvey: “We are failing pregnant women.”

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