The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has issued a public health alert regarding women infected with the sexually transmitted diseases Syphilis. Hence, after five stillbirths and neonatal deaths in babies with congenital syphilis born between Jan. 1, 2023, and Sept. 1, 2023. From 2012 to 2022, there was a 547% increase in reported syphilis cases in North Carolina among women with an associated increase in congenital syphilis infections.
This increase mirrors the national trend. Congenital syphilis is preventable. If left untreated, syphilis in pregnancy can result in miscarriages, stillbirth and neonatal death, as well as adverse life long health impacts for the baby such as bone damage, severe anemia, enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, nerve problems causing blindness or deafness, meningitis, or skin rashes.
Public health agencies review each case of congenital syphilis in the state to understand why the infections were not prevented. A review of North Carolina’s 2022 congenital syphilis cases identified the following missed opportunities:
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Little to no prenatal care
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Missed opportunities to test women during pregnancy, as required by North Carolina’s Public Health law
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Inadequate or delayed treatment of the maternal syphilis infection
