over 200 children died in 2021 – breaking latest news

In the United States the rates of congenital syphilis affecting children are increasing at an alarming rate. the complaint of CNN which tells the dramatic story Venus came into the world with theinfection contracted in the uterus through the placenta: congenital syphilis. The newborn remained intubated, hospitalized in intensive care for 10 days, treated with an antibiotic. Now Venus is one and a half years old, she has recovered but it is very likely that she will have consequences for the rest of her life. The infection can indeed remain latent and should be checked every year to make sure it doesn’t recur. If left untreated, syphilis can lead to stillbirth or damage the organs, bones, vision and hearing of an infant. In 2021, more than 200 children in the United States died with congenital syphilis.

Syphilis: how the infection occurs

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infectious disease caused by the Treponema pallidum bacterium. transmitted for sexual way, gives mother to fetus and through blood transfusions and organ transplantation. Sexual infection occurs through biological fluids (also saliva), direct contact between mucous membranes and with skin sores. Patients can experience symptoms 10 to 90 days after infection and the signs are similar to those of other diseases: fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, hair loss as well as characteristic skin lesions. Without treatment, the infection progresses through a series of stages. It can lie dormant in the body for years or even decades, coming back to life by attacking the brain, nerves, eyes and other organs. It can lead to deafness, blindness or death. The good news is that the disease, if intercepted, is easily treated with simple penicillinancient and cheap antibiotic, in each of its phases.

Symptoms in newborns

Early congenital syphilis generally manifests during the first three months of life with characteristic blisters, rashes on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, papular lesions around the nose, mouth and diaper area. there is often an enlarged lymph nodes and an increase in the size of the liver and spleen with a general slowdown in growth. Some newborns develop meningitis, others have intellectual disabilities.

Stellar rates of congenital syphilis in the United States

Pregnant women can transmit the infection to the fetus and we speak precisely of congenital syphilis when the baby is infected before birth. According to doctors, syphilis should never affect a child because the disease is very predictable. A timely treatment, at least 30 days before delivery, reduces the risk of infections passing from mother to baby by 98%. However in the United States many women are not screened for a variety of reasons including, lack of funds, understaffing and insurance reasons.

So it happened that cases of congenital syphilis have increased by 700% in the last decade in the United States, with even more astonishing numbers affecting some states. According to CDC data from 2016 to 2021, cases increased 3,300% in Mississippi, nearly 3,000% in Oklahoma, more than 2,200% in Hawaii, more than 1,800% in Washington, more than 1,600% in New Mexico, over 1,500% in Wisconsin, and over 1,000% in Iowa and Arizona. The CDC in 2012 reported 324 cases of congenital syphilis but in 2021 the figure rose to 2,677.

In Italy

In Italy, specialist pre-conception services are fully reimbursed by the National Health Service. It is enough for the family doctor or gynecologist to write the code M00 on the prescription. Both men and women have the right to a complete blood count, a test for the search for pathological hemoglobins (to exclude Mediterranean anemia, for example), an HIV test, a test to determine blood group and serological screening for syphilis.