syphilis

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Growing Killer of Infants in US: Syphilis
Syphilis
Is Killing
More Infants
in the US
longform
Mar 10, 2024 12:15 PM CDT

Syphilis Is Killing More Infants in the US

ProPublica reports how a drug shortage is making the 'entirely preventable' problem worse

(Newser) - Syphilis cases have been surging in the US over the last several years, and ProPublica zeroes in on the most vulnerable cohort of patients—infants. The crux of the story is how a drug shortage is costing lives:
  • The impact: The disease is easily spread from a pregnant woman to
...

CDC's Latest Syphilis Report Is a Gloomy Read

207K cases were recorded in 2022, per the CDC

(Newser) - There were more than 207,000 syphilis cases in the US in 2022, a count that was last that high in 1950 . The CDC on Tuesday shared the new data, which showed cases numbered 115,064 in 2018—meaning an 80% surge happened over a four-year period. Syphilis is still...

Scientists Find an Ancient Syphilis Relative in Brazil

Research suggests the bacterium has been around for millennia

(Newser) - People who lived with painful mouth and skin sores on the south coast of Brazil some 2,000 years ago carried the oldest known evidence of a syphilis relative. Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, is "one of the least well understood common bacterial infections," one expert...

With This STD Exploding, 'Something Is Not Working Here'

Congenital syphilis cases in US newborns skyrocketed last year

(Newser) - Alarmed by yet another jump in syphilis cases in newborns, US health officials are calling for stepped-up prevention measures, including encouraging millions of women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for the sexually transmitted disease. More than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022—...

Study Suggests Familiar Antibiotic Can Counter STDs

Pill taken the morning after drastically reduced incidence of chlamydia, syphilis

(Newser) - US health officials released data Tuesday showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education, and reduced testing during the COVID-19...

This State Saw 900% Spike in Newborn STD
'Kind of a Shock'
on Newborns
in Mississippi
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 18, 2023 4:35 PM CST

'Kind of a Shock' on Newborns in Mississippi

There were 10 babies with congenital syphilis in the state in 2016; in 2021, 102, per analysis

(Newser) - Mississippi, the nation's poorest state , already claims the worst infant mortality rate in the US. Now, more bad news for newborns there: The number of babies treated for congenital syphilis—meaning the infection is passed down from mother to baby during gestation—spiked 900% over five years, rising from...

At-Home Tests to Follow Spike in STDs

Rate of syphilis cases at highest in three decades

(Newser) - Sharply rising cases of some sexually transmitted diseases—including a 26% rise in new syphilis infections reported last year—are prompting US health officials to call for new prevention and treatment efforts. "It is imperative that we ... work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the US,"...

She Was Handed an Envelope, Broke a Staggering Story

How an AP reporter broke the Tuskegee syphilis story

(Newser) - Jean Heller was toiling away on the floor of the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami when an AP colleague from the opposite end of the country handed her a thin manila envelope. "I'm not an investigative reporter," Edith Lederer told the 29-year-old Heller. "But I...

Syphilis Killed More Than 150 US Babies Last Year
Pandemic Didn't Stop Rise
in STDs. Babies Suffered
in case you missed it
Apr 17, 2022 6:31 AM CDT

Pandemic Didn't Stop Rise in STDs. Babies Suffered

Congenital syphilis is up more than 200% from 2016

(Newser) - The pandemic didn't change the trajectory of the years-long rise in sexually transmitted diseases in the US, according to a CDC report released this week, and it has had tragic consequences for babies. The CDC says congenital syphilis—syphilis passed from mother to fetus—led to 149 infant deaths...

Syphilis Is Killing Babies. It Absolutely Shouldn't

ProPublica looks at the public health care challenges of the problem

(Newser) - Nobody wants the Treponema pallidum bacteria in their body. Which is to say, nobody wants syphilis. A story at ProPublica focuses on one particular aspect of the STD—infections of pregnant women. The bacteria can easily penetrate the placenta, with disastrous consequences. There's a 40% chance the baby will...

Province Sees 'Horrifying' Number of Syphilis Infections

Alberta hasn't seen numbers like this since before antibiotics were available

(Newser) - Alberta, Canada, is seeing rates of syphilis not experienced in the region since the 1940s—before antibiotics for the bacterial infection were developed. "Despite all of our advances, we are seeing a horrifying rate," an infectious disease specialist tells the CBC . In the year 2000, just 17 cases...

Coronavirus's Effect on Sexual Health Could Last for 'Years'

Experts worry people aren't being tested for STDs

(Newser) - Health experts in Canada are warning about the threat of sexually transmitted infections, which might be overlooked amid the coronavirus pandemic. Syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea infections have been on the rise globally for the last decade, per the CBC . Politico reports nine of the 10 Canadian provinces had declared STI...

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice STD Numbers, America

CDC: Gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia on the rise in the US for 5th year in a row

(Newser) - A big number out of the CDC on Tuesday, and it's not a good one: The health protection agency says there were 2.4 million infections diagnosed and reported from three sexually transmitted diseases in 2018, the "most cases" ever documented in a one-year span, per a CDC...

Syphilis 'Has Come Roaring Back' in US

Cases in infants are at a 20-year high

(Newser) - The CDC's director of STD prevention says that "not long ago" syphilis was close to elimination. But some troubling new statistics show that a lot of ground has been lost in the fight against STDs, and it's affecting some of the most vulnerable members of society. According...

'Shameful' Finding in California STD Report

Rise in STDs accompanied 30 stillbirths caused by congenital syphilis in 2017

(Newser) - STDs are booming in California, with health officials worried about a 45% increase over the last five years. In 2017, there were 218,710 reported cases of chlamydia, the highest number since 1990, representing a 9% increase over 2016. There were another 75,450 cases of gonorrhea, the highest number...

Father of Gynecology's Statue Comes Down

J. Marion Sims experimented on slaves, and his likeness will no longer be in Central Park

(Newser) - Another controversial 19th-century statue has been taken down in a big city, but this time the controversy doesn't involve the Confederacy. Instead, the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims— regarded as the father of modern gynecology—came down in New York's Central Park because much of his breakthrough...

New STD Cases at Record High in US—Again
STDs in US Are
'Out of Control'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 1, 2017 7:33 AM CDT

STDs in US Are 'Out of Control'

New cases hit record high for second year in a row

(Newser) - "STDs are out of control." So says the director of a coalition of state and local health departments aiming to prevent STDs after an alarming report from the CDC. It reveals the US saw a record number of new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis for the second...

They Were Injected With STDs. Now They Want Justice

Federal judge gives go-ahead for $1B lawsuit on 'Guatemala Experiment'

(Newser) - Nearly 850 victims and relatives are celebrating a "significant win" after a Baltimore federal judge allowed attorneys to proceed with a $1 billion lawsuit (initially dismissed last year) against Johns Hopkins University and others involving a 1940s offshore disease test. The Baltimore Sun reports on the "Guatemala Experiment,...

Victims of Horrific 1940s Study Still Wait in Pain

Slate describes their fight to get compensation

(Newser) - In 2010, Hillary Clinton was among those to apologize on behalf of the US for horrific medical experiments that government researchers performed on Guatemalans in the 1940s. More than 1,000 were infected with STDs without their consent and at least 83 died as researchers sought to prevent illness in...

How DIY Smallpox Vaccinations in the Civil War Spread Syphilis

Civil War soldiers trying to ward off one disease often got more than they bargained for

(Newser) - Smallpox has been eradicated and the vaccine is no longer necessary, but the infectious disease used to kill millions, and is credited with taking down Pharaoh Ramses V, the Roman Empire, and even the Aztec Empire. It's also credited with inspiring the first vaccination in 1796, when a doctor...

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