VIDEO: Providers need to ‘double our efforts’ against congenital syphilis
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NEW YORK — An expert encouraged providers to “double our efforts” to prevent congenital syphilis.
The CDC recently reported that cases of congenital syphilis increased more than 10-fold between 2012 and 2022, prompting the National Coalition of STD Directors to appeal to the Biden administration to declare it a public health emergency.
“It’s very clear that we are in the middle of a rapidly rising epidemic of congenital syphilis in the United States,” Joseph A. Bocchini Jr., MD, FAAP, professor of pediatrics at Tulane University and director of children’s health services at the Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, Louisiana, says in the above video.
According to Bocchini, who delivered a presentation on the topic at the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium, data show that nearly 90% of the cases could have been prevented.
“We need to double our efforts to improve prenatal care for women, encourage screening during pregnancy — during the first prenatal visit and the beginning of the third trimester — and at the time of delivery for any pregnant woman who lives in an area where congenital syphilis cases are increasing,” Bocchini said.
References:
Bocchini JA. The great imitator: The scourge of syphilis has returned. Presented at: Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium; Nov. 18-19, 2023; New York.
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