Congenital Syphilis on the Rise

Testing and treatment key to turning the tide

The Texas Department of State Health Services is putting a statewide focus on congenital syphilis, a disease that has profound effects on hundreds of babies in Texas each year. Congenital syphilis cases rose from 166 in 2017 to 922 in 2022, the most recent year with final data, tracking with an increase in syphilis among adults. Texas accounted for 25 percent of the congenital syphilis cases in the United States in 2022 compared with roughly 10 percent of total births.

“These are heartbreaking statistics,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH. “They become even more heartbreaking when you consider that congenital syphilis is preventable when moms with syphilis receive timely testing and treatment either before or early during pregnancy.”

Shuford is reaching out directly to health care professionals with a letter and video asking for their help to ensure all pregnant women are tested for syphilis three times during pregnancy as required by state law. Texas Health & Safety Code 81.090 requires screening during every pregnancy:

• At the first prenatal examination and visit.
• During the third trimester visit (no sooner than 28 weeks gestation).
• At delivery.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection that can also spread from mother to child during pregnancy or at delivery. When that occurs, it can cause premature birth, low birthweight, stillbirth, deformed bones, deafness, blindness, jaundice and infant death.

Testing is critically important since syphilis can be cured with the right antibiotics. Once an infection is detected, prompt and complete treatment can reduce the chances the baby will be affected by 98 percent.

“That is where we in public health and health care can make the biggest difference in the shortest amount of time,” said Shuford. “We must find ways to increase prenatal care and the testing that goes along with it, and then make sure there is a strong connection to follow-up care.”

This Friday, DSHS will host a congenital syphilis summit in Houston, bringing together health care professionals, community health workers, health insurers, state and local public health, community groups, state agencies and others. They will gather in person and virtually, hearing from state and national experts, meeting others doing similar work in their parts of the state, and returning to their communities with concrete next steps to reduce congenital syphilis among their neighbors.

Also this week, DSHS has posted new congenital syphilis web pages that include resources for health care providers, community groups and patients. And DSHS launched a new data dashboard on congenital syphilis with information about the disease, how to identify and treat it, and recent trends and county-level data. People can find it and more public health data on the Texas Health Data section of the DSHS website.

Note: Dr. Shuford’s video is available.