Tarrant County, U.S. reach ‘tipping point’ as newborn syphilis infections surge
Cases of syphilis among newborns have multiplied by 10 in the last decade in the United States, federal health officials said Tuesday.
Officials in particular urged communities with high rates of congenital syphilis, which includes Tarrant and Dallas counties, to step up their efforts to test and treat for the disease, which can be easily prevented if it is caught before childbirth.
“Newborn syphilis is extremely preventable,” said Dr. Debra Houry, the chief medical officer for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But if it’s not prevented, the consequences are dire. Left untreated, syphilis in pregnant moms can cause miscarriages, stillbirth, early infant death, or lifelong health complications in the child.
Officials with the CDC released new data on Tuesday that highlighted the rapid increase in congenital syphilis cases as well as the missed opportunities to test and treat pregnant women who are infected with the bacterium.
Texas has mirrored and sometimes exceeded the increase in congenital syphilis cases observed throughout the country. In 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, Texas’s rate for congenital syphilis was more than 2.4 times the nationwide rate. For every 100,000 Texas babies born in that year, there were about 180 cases of congenital syphilis, according to the Department of State Health Services.
In Tarrant County, there were 55 cases of congenital syphilis in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, according to data provided by the state health department.
Although cases of congenital syphilis have increased in all racial and ethnic groups, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaskan Native infants are at the highest risk for syphilis.
The CDC’s data concluded that nine out of every 10 cases of newborn syphilis could have been prevented with adequate testing and treatment.
To address the crisis, federal officials recommended that health care providers use rapid syphilis testing to test pregnant women for syphilis, and then begin treating them immediately if they have a positive test.
In addition, officials urged any health care provider — whether an obstetrician focusing on pregnancy or a doctor specializing in substance use disorder — to test for syphilis. About 40% of newborn syphilis cases in the U.S. occurred among pregnant women who did not receive prenatal care, said Dr. Laura Bachmann, the chief medical officer in the CDC’s division of STD prevention.
“We must start thinking outside of the OB/GYN office,” Bachmann said.
She urged emergency departments, substance use disorder clinics, maternal and child health programs to join the fight against syphilis.
“Care provided in each of these settings could be life changing and life saving,” she said.
Communities with high syphilis rates, like Tarrant County, should also work to stem the spread of syphilis before women become pregnant, Bachmann said. The syphilis rate in Tarrant County has multiplied by more than eight times between 2011 and 2021, according to state data.
“Truly reversing these trends will require increased focus and resources,” Houry said. “Already strained public health systems and the escalating STI epidemic have brought our nation to a tipping point with a newborn syphilis.”
