A top federal health official visited Dallas on Thursday to address the surging rate of babies born with syphilis in Texas.
The silent explosion of syphilis nationwide, but especially in Texas, has sparked considerable concern among health authorities, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. Levine met with the leaders of Parkland Hospital on February 22 to discuss the rise of this preventable bacterial infection as well as ways to curb it.
“Addressing the resurgence of syphilis and congenital syphilis requires a concerted effort. We are working collaboratively to reduce the incidence of syphilis and its devastating consequences, and we will turn the tide on the syphilis epidemic,” Levine posted on X.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first raised alarm last summer over a 32% increase in congenital syphilis (CS) cases nationwide in 2021. Then, this month, it released data on 2022, showing that another 30.6% hike in CS cases had occurred year over year, rising from 2,875 to 3,755 reports.
The record-breaking figures were also seen in adult cases of syphilis, with 203,500 reported, thus increasing by 17.0% between 2021 and 2022. More than 2.5 million cases of sexually transmitted infections overall were reported in 2022 alone.
While Texas ranked No.26 in adult cases of syphilis with a rate of 15.5 per 100,000 people in 2022, it landed at No.4 in CS cases with a rate of 246.8 per 100,000 live births.
CS infections occur when a syphilitic mother goes untreated for 30 days before delivery and passes the infection on to her child. Alongside increasing the risk of the fetus being miscarried or stillborn, CS can cause birth defects or disorders ranging from an enlarged liver and spleen to nerve problems causing blindness or deafness.
In light of the potentially catastrophic consequences of this rising disease, Levine’s visit with Parkland officials and staff — a Dallas County public hospital that leads the nation in the number of annual hospital births — provided critical insights into the challenges faced in tackling this issue in the field.
Dr. Emily Adhikari, director of perinatal infectious diseases for Parkland Health, raised the issue of syphilis being a tricky disease to identify based on its symptoms, which can either be minimal or mimic other illnesses, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Training doctors on what to look for is a key part of reducing CS cases.
“With the public awareness of syphilis as being a problem, I think we’re playing catch-up,” she said, per the DMN.
