Syphylis strikes back 1

Congenital Syphilis on the Rise; 1,870 Cases are Up 279% from 2015

Apr 16, 2021 | Shalesha Majors

Congenital syphilis (CS) is a disease that occurs when a pregnant person with syphilis passes the infection on to the fetus during pregnancy. According to CDC’s Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Surveillance Report 2019 released during STD Awareness Week, in 2019, 128 infants died of congenital syphilis and nearly 2,000 cases were reported. Although most of the cases were reported from a few states, 44 jurisdictions (43 states and the District of Columbia) reported at least one case of congenital syphilis in 2019. The national rate of 48.5 cases per 100,000 live births in 2019 represents a 41.4% increase relative to 2018 and 291.1% increase relative to 2015.

In 2019, the most common missed congenital syphilis prevention opportunity was a lack of adequate maternal syphilis treatment despite receipt of a timely syphilis diagnosis (40.2%). The second most common missed congenital syphilis prevention opportunity in 2019 was a lack of timely prenatal care and subsequent lack of timely syphilis testing (36.3%).

To wrap up STD Awareness Week, NACCHO is highlighting an important data collection effort to maximize our chances of disrupting congenital syphilis, together. NACCHO, in conjunction with CDC, is collecting information on congenital syphilis prevention and control interventions/activities in your county/city. This information collection effort focuses on any intervention(s)/activity across the entire spectrum of prevention of syphilis among persons with childbearing capacity and congenital syphilis. A compendium of responses will be developed and made available to local, state, and federal STD programs to increase peer-to-peer collaboration and improve congenital syphilis prevention efforts.

You can enter information on interventions/activities that were pre-COVID or current, and you can enter information on more than one intervention/activity, regardless of whether the intervention/activity has been evaluated. If you are not the right person to fill out info on your CS efforts, please forward this info to the correct person. The form can be accessed here.

If you have questions about how your community might be able to tackle syphilis rates, feel free to reach out to NACCHO to have a conversation and brainstorm. Otherwise, consider sharing the above survey and the messages below on social media to help raise awareness in your communities about syphilis.


About Shalesha Majors

More posts by Shalesha Majors

Related Posts

Disability Inclusive Work Cultures for Local Health...

An overview of disability inclusive workplaces and steps that local health...

Mar 22, 2023 | Haleigh Leslie

Disability Inclusive Work Cultures for Local Health...

TB Toolkit HCP TW3
  • Infection, Prevention, and Control
  • Infectious Disease
  • Tuberculosis

Recognizing World Tuberculosis Day with the Think. Test....

World TB Day is a day to educate the public about the impact of TB around the...

Mar 21, 2023 | Irene Halferty

Recognizing World Tuberculosis Day with the Think. Test....

TAK00598 scaled

North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC) 2022

National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) and...

Mar 20, 2023

North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC) 2022

I Stock 1366016941 1
  • HIV, STI, & Viral Hepatitis

NACCHO Applauds the Centers for Disease Control and...

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the...

Mar 16, 2023 | Kat Kelley

NACCHO Applauds the Centers for Disease Control and...

I Stock 1420110550
  • Tools & Resources
  • Infection, Prevention, and Control
  • Infectious Disease
  • Tuberculosis

New CDC Publication Summarizes Guidelines for...

On January 27, 2023, Public Health Reports, released “Diagnosis, Treatment, and...

Mar 13, 2023 | Irene Halferty

New CDC Publication Summarizes Guidelines for...

City Communications Connected Health
  • Tools & Resources
  • Health in All Policies

Connect with Health in All Policies Practitioners on...

Share resources, ask questions, and network with peers on ways to ensure that...

Mar 03, 2023 | Anu Varma

Connect with Health in All Policies Practitioners on...

Factsheet immunizationprogram November2021
  • Immunization

International HPV Awareness Day

On March 4th we recognize International HPV Awareness Day.

Mar 02, 2023 | Amiris Roberson

International HPV Awareness Day

Picture1

Fuel for the Future: NACCHO celebrates National...

arch is National Nutrition Month®, an annual campaign by the Academy of...

Mar 01, 2023 | Talei Moore

Fuel for the Future: NACCHO celebrates National...

Picture2
  • RIM

Open Path Resources Spotlight

This month, NACCHO had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Mike Van Keulen and...

Feb 28, 2023

Open Path Resources Spotlight

Back to Top