A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that opportunities to prevent congenital syphilis are being missed. Congenital syphilis occurs when a pregnant patient with syphilis passes the infection to their baby, perhaps leading to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Infants born with syphilis may experience lifelong medical complications. Syphilis is preventable with timely testing and treatment during pregnancy.

The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) underscores critical deficiencies in prenatal care and syphilis screening that have resulted in avoidable congenital syphilis cases. Researchers analyzed congenital syphilis cases in Clark County, nevada, from 2017 to 2022.in 2022, Nevada was ranked eighth nationally for reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis, as well as congenital syphilis.

Lack of Prenatal Care and Testing

According to the report, 530 women in Clark County, NV, tested positive for syphilis during pregnancy between 2017 and 2022. Over a third (195 out of 530) of these women had babies with congenital syphilis. Only 43.1% of these women received standard prenatal care during their pregnancies.

The absence of prenatal care results in numerous missed opportunities to diagnose and treat the infection. Nevada law mandates that healthcare providers screen pregnant patients for syphilis three times: during the initial prenatal visit, early in the third trimester, and at delivery. Despite this policy aimed at preventing congenital syphilis, patients without regular care can be overlooked.

“Timely testing and treatment during pregnancy might have prevented 88% of the cases of congenital syphilis in 2022.”

Even without prenatal care, many women whose infants had congenital syphilis interacted with the healthcare system during their pregnancies. More than half (57.4%) visited the emergency department at least once within 30 days before childbirth.However, only 68.4% of these visits included syphilis testing. Recent studies indicate that syphilis screening in emergency departments can identify cases that might otherwise go undetected.

Implications for Public Health

The findings emphasize the need to improve access to prenatal care to ensure timely syphilis testing and treatment. The report also suggests expanding syphilis screening for pregnant patients to settings such as emergency departments. Connecting patients who test positive to prompt care is crucial, regardless of the setting.

The CDC estimates that timely testing and treatment during pregnancy might have prevented 88% of the cases of congenital syphilis in 2022, highlighting the importance of these interventions.