CINCINNATI — Cases of babies born with syphilis are on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said 3,700 babies were born with syphilis in 2022. This is the most recent year of complete data, according to the CDC.
"Congenital syphilis is a big concern," said Cincinnati Health Commissioner Dr. Grant Mussman. "It causes all sorts of problems in newborn babies."
He said these problems can include jaundice and organ problems at birth, but later can lead to severe developmental and neurological issues.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and if a mother has syphilis during pregnancy, it can be passed to the baby.
"It is something we would really like to avoid," Mussman said.
In recent years, things have been trending in the wrong direction.
Mussman said in Hamilton County, as of 2022, cases had doubled over the last three years.
Ohio Department of Health data shows there were 93 cases of syphilis among kids up to 9 years old in 2022, up from 50 cases in 2021.
In Kentucky, state data shows the number of congenital syphilis cases went from 2 in 2012, to 35 in 2022.
So medical experts are urging people to get tested.
"Treatment for syphilis, ideally is a dose of bicillin, which is an injectable form of penicillin," Mussman said.
Both the Cincinnati Health Department and Hamilton County Health Department offer testing.
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