Texas doctors concerned about rising number of babies born with syphilis
The number of Texas babies born with the sexually transmitted disease syphilis is on the rise.
The state health department says the numbers over the last five years are concerning.
"Between 2017 and 2022 there was a 400% increase in the number of cases of congenital syphilis. We locally have definitely seen those same significant increases in numbers, and it's also been seen nationally," said Dr. Philip Huang with Dallas County Health and Human Services.
A summit was held Friday in Houston about congenital syphilis, babies born with the sexually-transmitted disease.
"The spike in congenital syphilis is probably a multi-fold problem. One is syphilis had almost completely gone away and had become much more rare, and so because of that, a lot of physicians and providers have not been testing or testing for it as much," said Dr. Emma Dishner, with the Texas Center for Infectious Disease Associates.
State law changed in 2019, requiring three tests for syphilis during pregnancy: the first pre-natal visit, during third trimester and at delivery.
Women who are not being told about the testing should ask about it and new technology made testing better.
"We also probably picked up on a bunch of cases that we didn't know about prior," said Dishner.
(Credit: DIDIER PALLAGES/AFP via Getty Images)
Doctors say testing is key.
"These women generally don't become impregnated by themselves, usually, and so I think testing their partners and testing other sexually-active men is also an important part of this," Dishner said.
The infection is treatable with a shot of penicillin.
The shot can prevent debilitating illnesses in newborns or even worse.
"If it's untreated, it can be a 40% fatality rate among the babies that are born," said Huang.