The Congenital Syphilis Surge: Clinician Lessons to Turn the Rising Tide

Congenital syphilis (CS) refers to in utero syphilis infection of the developing fetus. CS can be prevented by timely syphilis screening and treatment in pregnancy. CS has become a US public health crisis in the past decade. In response, public health experts and professional societies now recommend increasing the frequency of syphilis testing in pregnancy. All infants born to women with syphilis in pregnancy require careful evaluation and nontreponemal titers to determine CS diagnosis, evaluation, and management. These infants should also receive close follow-up and repeat nontreponemal titers. Most infants diagnosed and treated early for CS have a favorable prognosis.