Preventable infant illness is on rise, CDC says. Southern states have the most cases
A disease among infants that experts say is preventable is quickly expanding in the U.S., particularly in the South.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sounding the alarm on congenital syphilis — syphilis in newborns — because of surging cases in 2022. The “rapidly accelerating epidemic” of the infant illness has particularly spiked in Southern states, which made up more than half of the year’s total cases, the CDC report said.
Now some states in the South are warning their residents and looking into policy changes to combat the climbing congenital syphilis cases.
The CDC reported that more than 3,700 babies were born with syphilis in 2022, which is 10 times the number of cases recorded a decade prior. The South alone reported almost 2,000, making up about 52% of the 2022 cases.
What is congenital syphilis?
Congenital syphilis occurs when a person infected with syphilis spreads the disease to their baby during pregnancy, according to the CDC. The disease puts pregnant people at the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth, as well as potentially birthing their child prematurely, the CDC said.
An infant born with congenital syphilis can face deformities, enlarged liver or spleen, anemia, jaundice, neurological issues, meningitis and rashes, the CDC said.
Despite the rise in cases, nearly nine in 10 newborn syphilis cases in 2022 were said by the CDC to potentially have been preventable — either through testing for or treatment of the disease. More than half of pregnant people who were positive for syphilis did not receive effective treatment to prevent the disease from being spread to their infant, the CDC said.
Why are newborn syphilis cases rising nationally?
Concern in Southern states over infant syphilis cases
Several states in the South have experienced large upticks in congenital syphilis cases. Georgia is seeing a 321% increase in the disease’s rate per 100,000 live births between 2017 and 2021, the CDC reports. Mississippi saw its congenital syphilis rates per 100,000 live live births shoot up from 3 in 2017 to 182 by 2021.
In light of the steady increase of the illness in infants, multiple states in the South have also issued various warnings to residents on the disease.
One of the most recent alerts came out of North Carolina on Nov. 13 from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, which discussed infant deaths caused by congenital syphilis. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1, there were five cases of stillbirths or neonatal deaths as a result of the disease, the department said in its release.
Calling it an “alarming trend,” the department said there has been a 547% increase in the disease between 2012 and 2022 within the state. There was one case of the illness in 2012, the department said, in comparison to 57 cases in 2022.
While investigating the reasons behind the rise in congenital syphilis, a review showed that “little to no prenatal care,” lack of testing for pregnant people and insufficient treatment of pregnant people with syphilis contributed to the increase.
Other states such as Georgia have taken legislative actions to mitigate the disease. Senate Bill 46 passed the Georgia State Legislature in the 2023-2024 session, which requires healthcare providers to test all pregnant people for HIV and syphilis during their first prenatal doctor’s visit, around 28-32 gestational weeks and finally one last time at the time of delivery. The law went into effect July 1.
Syphilis health screenings are required on at least the first prenatal visit in all states except:
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Wisconsin
