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CDC reports alarming uptick in congenital syphilis


FILE - A pregnant woman being examined (WJAR)
FILE - A pregnant woman being examined (WJAR)
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that congenital syphilis numbers have more than tripled since 1994.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, a bacterial infection that, when left untreated, can affect a person's quality of life.

Pregnant women with untreated syphilis can pass it on to their babies through the womb.

"Rhode Island has reported about eight cases of congenital syphilis between 2020 and '22 to the CDC," said Dr. Erica Hardy, director of infectious disease at Women & Infants Hospital.

The CDC reported that 2,000 cases were reported in the United States just in 2020, the highest number of cases in a single year in nearly three decades.

All of these cases are preventable through prenatal screening.

"It's treatable with antibiotics," said Hardy, as this is tested for as a part of routine prenatal care.

Early signs, she said, may include ulcers or a skin rash. A person may have no symptoms.

Left untreated in adults over time, syphilis can lead to brain and nerve damage.

And if you're a parent-to-be and have it, you can pass it on.

"It can cause serious problems in an infant if a pregnant patient has syphilis and it's not diagnosed or not treated," said Hardy. "It can cause growth problems. It can cause premature delivery. It can cause problems with the eyes or ears, brain -- seizures. So, it can be really quite serious."

It can even be deadly.

If diagnosed in pregnancy, a penicillin-based antibiotic is most often prescribed.

"The treatment depends on how early in the disease somebody is. There's early stages of syphilis, and there's later stages of syphilis," said Hardy.

Generally, pregnant patients are tested for syphilis at their first prenatal visit.

If they test positive, they should be placed on treatment, along with their sexual partner, right away.


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