Fewer Women Are Getting Prenatal Care (and Missing an Important Chance to Prevent Congenital Syphilis)
A new report shows that fewer women are getting prenatal care. That means too many patients are missing the chance to prevent congenital syphilis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new surveillance data on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There were 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported in the United States in 2022. Rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia remain high, and the rise in syphilis rates is alarming—up 80% since 2018.
In 2022 there were:
As always, the number of cases reported to the CDC is likely lower than the actual number of infections. Many STIs have no symptoms. A person could easily not know they were infected. Even STIs without symptoms, however, can lead to long-term health issues like infertility. This is why regular screening is so important.
While anyone who is sexually active can get an STI, the data show that some groups are more affected. This includes young people (ages 15 to 24), gay and bisexual men, pregnant people, and some racial and ethnic minority groups. It is important to understand that these disparities are not explained by behavior. Instead, they reflect other inequities in our society such as poverty and a lack of access to quality health care.
Laura Bachmann, MD, MPH, Acting Director, CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, stressed that we have to do a better job reaching all people: “There are no shortcuts, and we have to meet people where they are. Some people face tremendous barriers to STI prevention and health services. So, the most important work is often outside the clinic, whether it be reaching out to communities with testing, interviewing patients to offer services to their partners, or delivering treatment directly to someone.”
Keep reading for more data and infection-specific analysis:
It can be hard to identify trends in chlamydia infection because this STI usually has no symptoms. A decrease in chlamydia rates from year to year could mean that fewer people are getting the infection, or it could mean that fewer people are being screened. In 2020, for example, there were far fewer cases of chlamydia reported to the CDC. Most experts agree that this was because the pandemic prevented too many people from getting tested.
The bacteria that cause gonorrhea continues to evolve resistance to many of the antibiotics that were once used to treat it. It is estimated that half of gonorrhea infections in the U.S. in 2022 involved bacteria that were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The good news is that all of the strains in the U.S. still respond to ceftriaxone which is the recommended treatment. Still, public health experts are worried that the bacteria will continue to evolve and that we don’t have enough new antibiotics in development for when it does.
The increase in syphilis among women has led to an alarming rise in congenital syphilis—babies born with the infection. The congenital syphilis rate was 102.5 cases per 100,000 live births in 2022. This represents a 30.6% increase from 2021. It is the highest reported rate in over 30 years. Congenital syphilis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight, and other health issues (like blindness, deafness, or deformed bones). All pregnant people should be screened for syphilis.
One of the things that increases a person’s likelihood of getting an STI is their sexual network (a group of people that are connected through sexual behavior). Many factors—from the neighborhood in which someone lives to their access to health care—influence their sexual networks. These same factors also influence the STI rate within that sexual network. For example, chlamydia will likely spread more widely within a sexual network made up of people who do not readily have access to health care.
A new report shows that fewer women are getting prenatal care. That means too many patients are missing the chance to prevent congenital syphilis.
Syphilis rates in pregnant women went up 222% percent between 2016 and 2022 and another 28% between 2022 and 2024. Too many pregnant women are not being screened.
The CDC just released STI Surveillance Data for 2024 that show cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are slowly declining.
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An antibiotic that is important in the fight against syphilis will once again be hard to find, this time because of a voluntary recall by the manufacturer.
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that we’re missing opportunities to prevent congenital syphilis and save lives.
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A new study found that opt-out screenings for all patients in emergency departments caught numerous cases of syphilis and HIV that would have gone undetected under other screening protocols.
ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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