CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Health officials say they’re concerned about the rise of a disease affecting pregnant mothers and their babies.
Hamilton County health officer Dr. Stephen Miller spoke on the rise of congenital syphilis during Monday’s Regional Health Council meeting.
Congenital syphilis occurs when a pregnant mother who contracts syphilis passes it along to their baby.
Dr. Miller says that ten years ago, there were virtually no cases of this disease across Tennessee.
Now, in 2023, the most recent year data was collected, there were roughly 90 such cases across the state.
According to data from the Centers of Disease Control from that same year, there were over 3,800 cases across the country, which they say is the highest number of cases since 1984.
Dr. Miller said, “Babies being born with syphilis used to be a rarity, but now unfortunately now every OBGYN, every midwife is having this happen, it’s getting quite bad… This is inexcusable that this is happening.”
The impact of congenital syphilis can be devastating.
Dr. Miller said, “At least 50 percent of those carrying a child with congenital syphilis will have a miscarriage. Or that child will have a significant amount of birth defects and milestone cognitive problems and things that affect them later on in life.”
There have been some new rules implemented this year around mandatory testing for syphilis for expecting mothers in the third trimester and during delivery.
Dr. Miller said, “If you can catch syphilis around the 28 to 32 week mark, you can prevent some of the horrible outcomes.”
These new tests are in addition to a required syphilis test during the initial prenatal visit.
