Congenital Syphilis in Texas Section 2 - About This Report

This epidemiologic profile for congenital syphilis (CS) was created to inform planners, public health professionals, policy makers, and other stakeholders at the local and state levels about the epidemiology of CS, syphilis in women of childbearing age, and the underlying factors that may contribute to CS.

This profile only includes CS and syphilis cases among women of childbearing age who were Texas residents at the time of diagnosis. The cases analyzed met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) surveillance case definitions, which may differ from clinical diagnoses.

Public Health Follow-Up and Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance and Data Sources

The data for this profile came from public health follow-up (PHFU) and routine sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance activities. PHFU supports Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) who act to interrupt STD transmission by notifying people of possible STD exposure and providing STD results, testing, and treatment. Surveillance and PHFU staff perform case and data management of STD investigations. Methods of case identification include partner services interviews, provider reporting, lab reporting, and matches with vital statistics.

Texas STD surveillance is decentralized and includes 18 STD local and regional reporting jurisdictions (Figure 1). Some local reporting sites are city health departments which cover their surrounding county(ies) and vice versa. There are also two health districts, Corpus Christi/Nueces County Health District and Galveston County Health District, that report for multiple surrounding counties. Public Health Regions (PHR) are DSHS regional offices that report for all counties in their area not reported by a local health authority.

Figure 1. PHFU and STD Surveillance Sites, Texas

Congenital Syphilis in Texas

Table of Contents | Executive Summary | About this Report | Understanding Syphilis | An Overview of Congenital Syphilis and Syphilis in Women of Childbearing Age in Texas | Maternal Demographics for Women Delivering Infants with Congenital Syphilis | Barriers to Care | Birth Outcomes Associated with Congenital Syphilis | Congenital Syphilis Cascade