Current:Home > ContactSyphilis cases in newborns have "skyrocketed at a heartbreaking rate," CDC reports-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Syphilis cases in newborns have "skyrocketed at a heartbreaking rate," CDC reports
lotradecoin margin trading explained View Date:2024-12-26 05:10:46
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is bringing attention to an alarming increase in babies born with syphilis over the past decade.
According to the report, published Tuesday, more than 3,700 babies in the U.S. were born with syphilis in 2022 — more than 10 times the number in 2012. The 2022 case count is the largest in more than 30 years, CDC officials said.
"The congenital syphilis crisis in the United States has skyrocketed at a heartbreaking rate," said CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry in a news release. "New actions are needed to prevent more family tragedies. We're calling on healthcare providers, public health systems, and communities to take additional steps to connect mothers and babies with the care they need."
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that, during pregnancy, can be passed on to the baby. It has the potential to cause tragic outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death and lifelong medical issues. The 3,761 cases of congenital syphilis reported in 2022 included 231 stillbirths and 51 babies who died in infancy, the CDC said.
Lack of timely testing and adequate treatment were factors in 88% of congenital syphilis cases in the United States, the report found. With testing and treatment, officials estimated almost 9 in 10 cases of newborn syphilis in 2022 might have been prevented.
In a press briefing, Dr. Laura Bachmann, the chief medical officer of CDC's Division of STD Prevention, said a combination of individual and systemic barriers to testing and treatment resulted in missed prevention opportunities.
"These barriers may include lack of ongoing health coverage, living in health care or maternal care deserts, transportation limitations, challenges posed by substance use disorder, housing instability, poverty and racism," she said.
And while newborn syphilis cases are increasing nationwide and across every racial and ethnic group, Bachmann noted that Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native communities are experiencing "the brunt of the newborn syphilis epidemic."
Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, called the epidemic an "unacceptable American crisis."
"All pregnant mothers — regardless of who they are or where they live — deserve access to care that protects them and their babies from preventable disease," he said in the news release. "Our nation should be proactive and think beyond the OB/GYN's office and bridge prevention gaps. Every encounter a healthcare provider has with a patient during pregnancy is an opportunity to prevent congenital syphilis."
–Alexander Tin contributed reporting.
- In:
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
veryGood! (75973)
Related
- Drugs to treat diabetes, heart disease and blood cancers among those affected by price negotiations
- 'Dear Edward' tugs — and tugs, and tugs — at your heartstrings
- 'The Forty-Year-Old Version' is about getting older and finding yourself
- 'Wait Wait' for Feb. 18, 2023: With Not My Job guest Rosie Perez
- Beyoncé leads nominations for 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards
- A showbiz striver gets one more moment in the spotlight in 'Up With the Sun'
- US heat wave stretches into Midwest, heading for Northeast: Latest forecast
- Classic rock guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck dies at 78
- The president of Columbia University has resigned, effective immediately
- 'This Is Why' it was a tough road to Paramore's new album
Ranking
- Andrew Shue's Sister Elisabeth Shares Rare Update on His Life Amid Marilee Fiebig Romance
- Panic! at the Disco is ending after nearly two decades
- A home invasion gets apocalyptic in 'Knock At The Cabin'
- 'Brutes' captures the simultaneous impatience and mercurial swings of girlhood
- US Army intelligence analyst pleads guilty to selling military secrets to China
- Classic LA noir meets the #MeToo era in the suspense novel 'Everybody Knows'
- Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks
- '80 for Brady' assembles screen legends to celebrate [checks notes] Tom Brady
Recommendation
-
Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey announce engagement with new photos
-
The New Black Film Canon is your starting point for great Black filmmaking
-
Is the U.S. government designating too many documents as 'classified'?
-
Want to be a writer? This bleak but buoyant guide says to get used to rejection
-
State, local officials failed 12-year-old Pennsylvania girl who died after abuse, lawsuits say
-
'Avatar' marks 6 straight weeks at No. 1 as it surpasses $2 billion in ticket sales
-
Berklee Indian Ensemble's expansive, star-studded debut album is a Grammy contender
-
How Black resistance has been depicted in films over the years