Rates of maternal syphilis have climbed alarmingly quickly in recent years, according to a new study published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although syphilis infections in the U.S. have increased every year since 2000, rates of maternal syphilis more than tripled between 2016 and 2022.
The CDC issued a warning in November about the rising rates of congenital syphilis, which is when a mother passes the bacterial infection to the infant in the womb. Over 3,700 infants were diagnosed with congenital syphilis in the U.S. in 2022, including 231 stillbirths and 51 infant deaths.
In January, the CDC issued a more in-depth warning that rates of sexually transmitted infections have been increasing across race and gender categories in recent years, with rates of syphilis growing by 17% from 2021 to 2022.
“We cannot continue to use decades-old prevention strategies to address today’s STI epidemic,” Laura Bachmann, acting director of the Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, said in January.
Maternal syphilis rates increased by 738% for American Indian and Alaskan Native women from 2016 to 2022. The disease also affected white mothers, increasing by 315% during the same time period.
Young mothers are most at risk for contracting syphilis, with diagnosis rates rising during the study period by 290% for mothers younger than 20 and 226% for mothers between 20 and 24.
The largest increases in maternal syphilis occurred for mothers with no prenatal care or who received prenatal care only in their third trimester.
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Syphilis is typically easily treated with antibiotics. CDC guidance on congenital syphilis in November encouraged healthcare providers to suggest syphilis testing and treatment for pregnant and reproductive-age patients proactively to curb the rising epidemic.
“Every case is one too many when we have the tools to prevent it,” Bachmann said in January.
