Doctors call for expansion of syphilis testing during pregnancy amid recent surge

A coalition of doctors is sounding the alarm about the need to increase syphilis testing of pregnant women, amid a recent rise in sexually transmitted infections in newborns in the US.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on Thursday published new guidance on Thursday, recommending that doctors screen pregnant women for syphilis three times during pregnancy.

Obstetricians, gynecologists and other obstetric care professionals are now advised to screen all pregnant women for syphilis at their first prenatal visit, and then during the third trimester and again at birth.

Previous guidance recommended risk-based testing in the third trimester for those living in communities with high rates of syphilis and for those at risk of acquiring the infection during pregnancy.

“There has been a nearly eight-fold increase in cases of congenital syphilis over the last decade or so, and from a public health perspective, we recognize that obstetrician-gynecologists and other obstetrical physicians play a critical role,” said Christopher Zahn, a member of the ACOG. , said in a statement.

Zahn said timely diagnosis and treatment are “key” to reducing syphilis rates, noting that “the majority” of cases are preventable.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection that can be contracted through direct contact with a wound or through casual contact with objects such as toilet seats, door handles, swimming pools, clothing or shared utensils. If the mother has the infection, it can spread to the fetus.

More than 3,7000 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022, marking the highest number of cases in more than 30 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last year.

In your complete advice, the coalition of doctors pointed to the CDC’s conclusion that nearly 9 in 10 cases of congenital syphilis “could have been prevented with timely screening and treatment.”

Transmitting syphilis to the fetus can cause the baby to have a low birth weight and increase the chances that the mother will give birth too early or have a stillbirth or miscarriage, according to the CDC.

At birth, a baby may not show signs or symptoms of the disease, but if they do not receive treatment, they may develop health problems within a few weeks. These problems include cataracts, deafness, seizures or death, the CDC added.

Benzathine penicillin G is the preferred treatment for syphilis during pregnancy, although the medication has been lacking since last year. Pfizer, which is the only company making the drug, said last year that it would take at least until the second quarter of 2024 to ramp up production enough to end the shortage.