Written by by CAITLIN TILLEY at dailymail.co.uk
Rates of the most dangerous form of syphilis have tripled since 2016, health officials have warned.
New CDC data shows 280.4 pregnant women per 100,000 births tested positive for the sexually transmitted disease in 2022 compared to 87.2 per 100,000 births in 2016.
Particularly concerning is the risk of congenital syphilis – a preventable but serious condition occurring when a woman passes the infection to her baby during pregnancy. Roughly 40 percent of babies born to women with untreated syphilis are stillborn or die from the infection as a newborn.
The risk of premature births and birth defects, including bone damage, serious anemia, enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, nerve problems causing blindness or deafness, meningitis or skin rashes, is also higher.
It comes amid a nationwide outbreak of syphilis and other STDs such as chlamydia, blamed on casual hookups and the ‘explosion’ in popularity of dating apps like Hinge and Bumble.
At the same time, rates of premature births and birth defects have all been rising in recent years, baffling doctors.