News Release
Oct. 03, 2019
New state
law requires additional test during pregnancy
Texas public health officials are
reminding health care professionals about a new law increasing syphilis testing
during pregnancy. Texas law now mandates three syphilis tests: at the first
prenatal exam, during the third trimester, and at delivery. The new requirement
took effect last month and comes as the state has seen a sharp increase in the
number of syphilis infections passed from mother to child.
Congenital syphilis cases reported
to the Texas Department of State Health Services more than doubled last year
amid an ongoing increase in syphilis among women of childbearing age and an enhanced
public health effort to detect and track cases. There were 367 cases of
congenital syphilis in Texas in 2018, up from 164 in 2017. In addition to
laboratory confirmed cases, the total includes all babies born to women with a
history of syphilis and no documented treatment.
“Congenital syphilis can have devastating
effects on a child, but it is preventable when treatment begins in time,” said
Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner. “Testing in accordance with the new
law will provide the best opportunity to treat the infection so the infant
doesn’t suffer permanent consequences.”
Health care providers are
encouraged to document syphilis treatment completely and report that treatment
to their local health department so that babies of mothers who received
treatment won’t mistakenly be counted as cases.
DSHS has taken a number of steps to
detect and reduce congenital syphilis cases in Texas, including:
- Issuing
today’s health advisory
with testing and treatment guidance for health professionals.
- Hiring
a congenital syphilis epidemiologist and congenital syphilis coordinator to
lead efforts to better understand the causes of maternal and fetal
infections in Texas.
- Encouraging
the creation of community-based teams that review congenital syphilis cases to
identify systemic barriers to care and ways to reduce those barriers. Review
teams are operating in Houston and San Antonio with plans to expand to Dallas
and the Rio Grande Valley.
- Working
with other jurisdictions reporting at least 10 cases per year to begin internal
case reviews.
- Using
birth records to find cases that may have been missed before or at delivery so
public health can verify treatment or work with doctors to evaluate and test
the infant.
- Following
up on pregnant women with a previous syphilis infection who don’t have a record
of receiving adequate treatment.
The increase in reported cases is
likely due to a combination of a higher incidence of disease among women and increased
public health surveillance. A lack of or delayed prenatal care remains a
significant factor in the growing number of congenital syphilis cases, and
health officials encourage women to seek prenatal care as early in their
pregnancy as possible.
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(News Media Contact: Chris Van Deusen, DSHS
Director of Media Relations, 512-776-7119)