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San Diego County public health officials alarmed by number of babies born with syphilis
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Mar 26, 2023, 2:08:01 PM3/26/23
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<https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/san-diego-county-public-health-
officials-alarmed-by-number-of-babies-born-with-syphilis/ar-
AA18XIcj?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f1f4f718e7e34cbba2798321a3f132d5&ei=50>
Dismayed by the latest case counts, and the lack of prenatal care they
suggest, local pediatricians and public health leaders are working to
decrease the number of babies born with syphilis across San Diego County.
Preliminary data from the county epidemiology department shows that there
were 36 cases of congenital syphilis reported in 2022, up from 30 in 2021.
Though those numbers represent a small fraction of the roughly 44,000 live
births the region averages annually, they nonetheless are a significant
increase given that just four babies were born with syphilis 10 years
earlier.
When passed from mother to child before birth, syphilis increases the
chances of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and low birth
weight that can cause death shortly after birth. For those who survive,
there are greater chances of severe health problems from bone deformities
and low blood count to blindness and deafness.
The truly heartbreaking reality of the current surge in congenital
syphilis cases is that they're preventable. It has been standard operating
procedure to test pregnant women for syphilis in the first trimesters of
their pregnancies and, if they are infected, prescribe penicillin to kill
the bacteria that causes the disease before it infects their babies.
An increase in the number of newborns with this disease means that too
many women are going through pregnancy without comprehensive prenatal
care, notes Dr. Winston Tilghman, medical director of the county public
health department's HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch.
"These numbers are very concerning to us because they are really a
sentinel event showing that our system is not successfully serving
everyone," Tilghman said.
It's a problem that has been of rising concern since case rates started to
increase nationwide in 2012. By 2020, the California Department of Public
Health issued a health warning noting that congenital syphilis cases had
increased "nearly 900 percent" from 33 statewide in 2021 to 329 in 2018.
Nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned
that rates increased 477 percent from 2012 to 2019.
Among California's large counties, San Diego has typically seen
comparatively lower congenital syphilis rates with 40.3 cases per 100,000
live births in 2020 compared to 58.2 in Orange County, 62.6 in San
Francisco County and 125.8 in Los Angeles County.
However, 2020 is the most recent year for which statewide county-level
data is available. Case counts and rates for 2021 and 2022 are available
by special request in San Diego but have not yet been formally published.
It's impossible, then, to know how the region's much-higher rates of 76.8
and 90.3 cases per 100,000 live births in 2021 and 2022 compare to other
regions.
Preliminary data published in August by the CDC lists a rate of 74.1
congenital syphilis cases per 100,000 live births nationwide in 2021,
slightly lower than the local rate that year.
Syphilis is a chronic bacterial disease that spreads through sexual
contact with round firm sores appearing in areas associated with such
activity. Generally the sores are painless, but a secondary phase of
infection causes fever, swollen lymph nodes, skin rash and wart-like
genital lesions, according to the CDC. Infants often have no symptoms at
birth but may have nasal "snuffles", skin rash and a range of other signs.
What's driving the surge in congenital syphilis?
Related video: San Diego Photographer in More Legal Trouble (KGTV San
Diego, CA)
The CDC lists risk factors for syphilis during pregnancy as "sex with
multiple partners, sex in conjunction with drug use or transnational sex,
late entry into prenatal care ... methamphetamine or heroin use,
incarceration of the woman or her partner and unstable housing or
homelessness."
Information on the exact risk factors observed by public health
investigators who interview mothers after congenital syphilis is detected
in San Diego County was not available. Some mothers, Tilghman said in an
interview, refused to be interviewed or to answer some questions posed by
interviewers. However, an analysis of interviews showed that mothers of
half of the 30 cases in 2021 tested positive in labor and delivery. Nine
reported substance abuse while fewer than five reported incarceration or
homelessness. Thirteen said they had received prenatal care at least once
inside or outside the U.S., while 16 said they had none.
Early screening and treatment is seen as the most effective way to bring
congenital syphilis rates under control. In 2020, the California
Department of Public Health notified medical providers and public health
departments that women should not only have a syphilis test in the first
trimesters of their pregnancies but should also have a second test in
their third trimesters as some women became infected subsequent to first-
trimester testing.
For those living in areas with significant syphilis transmission who have
risk factors for the disease, another test is recommended at birth.
Last week, the California Department of Public Health issued a bulletin
aimed at eliminating congenital syphilis statewide, reiterating testing
guidelines and specifying additional testing in "non-traditional settings"
such as emergency departments, jails and through street medicine.
The county health department is working with the local chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics to focus on these particular settings with
the goal of reducing the number of babies born with syphilis.
Dr. Richard Silva, a hospital-based newborn specialist at UC San Diego
Health and a local physician champion for the AAP, said that an increasing
number of local hospitals are working to do more syphilis testing at birth
when risk factors are present and especially if there is no record of
prenatal care.
Telling a mother about to give birth, or who has just given birth, that
she needs to be tested is not easy. This is a disease that nobody wants to
think about.
"It's unfortunate, but I've gotten better at having this conversation just
because I've had to have it so many times," Silva said.
While a course of penicillin can cure those who test positive, and babies
are generally given the same doses as their mothers, additional testing is
necessary for newborns to determine whether the bacteria that causes the
disease has penetrated to various organ systems. This means newborns end
up being transferred from their mothers' arms to neonatal intensive care
units for blood tests, X-rays and even lumbar punctures to test cerebral
spinal fluid.
While the testing is necessary to determine what complications a child may
have later in life, separating parents and children so soon after birth is
painful.
"You know, we work so hard to make sure we get every newborn that time
after birth to bond through skin-to-skin contact, to work on
breastfeeding," Silva said. "We work so hard to keep that family unit
intact, because we know it's the best thing for the baby and it's the best
thing for the parents, so it's a real shame when we have to have this
separation."
The true tragedy of the congenital syphilis situation, notes Dr. Josue
Leon, medical director of women's care at Vista Community Clinic in North
County, is that prenatal care is widely available at zero cost through
federally qualified health centers throughout the region.
Programs have been bending over backwards for decades to tear down
barriers preventing access to prenatal care, and yet congenital syphilis
rates have continued to increase. Many women, for example, will decide not
to come in because they are late in their pregnancies and think they will
be turned away.
"The policy here and nationwide is regardless of how many weeks you are,
we'll take you, we want to see you," Leon said. "If you don't have
insurance, we'll take you. If you're homeless, we'll take you. We have
many homeless patients on our roster. We have incarcerated patients,
patients in shelters. If somebody calls and says, 'I cannot make my
appointment because I don't have transportation,' we will provide that
transportation either by sending a shuttle or by giving taxi vouchers."
As to what's driving this congenital syphilis surge, Leon says he often
asks women why they did not get prenatal care. The answers, he said, are
more often about scheduling than risky behavior.
"To me, it's mind boggling, but the only thing I can say is that I do
sometimes see disorganization," Leon said. "You know like, in their life,
a lot of things are going on and they are just all over the place.
"I've seen patients with good medical (coverage), and it goes beyond me
why they will not get prenatal care. Sometimes they will say, 'oh, no,
doctor, I was busy, I was busy with my other children."
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: sf.n...@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
officials-alarmed-by-number-of-babies-born-with-syphilis/ar-
AA18XIcj?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f1f4f718e7e34cbba2798321a3f132d5&ei=50>
Dismayed by the latest case counts, and the lack of prenatal care they
suggest, local pediatricians and public health leaders are working to
decrease the number of babies born with syphilis across San Diego County.
Preliminary data from the county epidemiology department shows that there
were 36 cases of congenital syphilis reported in 2022, up from 30 in 2021.
Though those numbers represent a small fraction of the roughly 44,000 live
births the region averages annually, they nonetheless are a significant
increase given that just four babies were born with syphilis 10 years
earlier.
When passed from mother to child before birth, syphilis increases the
chances of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and low birth
weight that can cause death shortly after birth. For those who survive,
there are greater chances of severe health problems from bone deformities
and low blood count to blindness and deafness.
The truly heartbreaking reality of the current surge in congenital
syphilis cases is that they're preventable. It has been standard operating
procedure to test pregnant women for syphilis in the first trimesters of
their pregnancies and, if they are infected, prescribe penicillin to kill
the bacteria that causes the disease before it infects their babies.
An increase in the number of newborns with this disease means that too
many women are going through pregnancy without comprehensive prenatal
care, notes Dr. Winston Tilghman, medical director of the county public
health department's HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch.
"These numbers are very concerning to us because they are really a
sentinel event showing that our system is not successfully serving
everyone," Tilghman said.
It's a problem that has been of rising concern since case rates started to
increase nationwide in 2012. By 2020, the California Department of Public
Health issued a health warning noting that congenital syphilis cases had
increased "nearly 900 percent" from 33 statewide in 2021 to 329 in 2018.
Nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned
that rates increased 477 percent from 2012 to 2019.
Among California's large counties, San Diego has typically seen
comparatively lower congenital syphilis rates with 40.3 cases per 100,000
live births in 2020 compared to 58.2 in Orange County, 62.6 in San
Francisco County and 125.8 in Los Angeles County.
However, 2020 is the most recent year for which statewide county-level
data is available. Case counts and rates for 2021 and 2022 are available
by special request in San Diego but have not yet been formally published.
It's impossible, then, to know how the region's much-higher rates of 76.8
and 90.3 cases per 100,000 live births in 2021 and 2022 compare to other
regions.
Preliminary data published in August by the CDC lists a rate of 74.1
congenital syphilis cases per 100,000 live births nationwide in 2021,
slightly lower than the local rate that year.
Syphilis is a chronic bacterial disease that spreads through sexual
contact with round firm sores appearing in areas associated with such
activity. Generally the sores are painless, but a secondary phase of
infection causes fever, swollen lymph nodes, skin rash and wart-like
genital lesions, according to the CDC. Infants often have no symptoms at
birth but may have nasal "snuffles", skin rash and a range of other signs.
What's driving the surge in congenital syphilis?
Related video: San Diego Photographer in More Legal Trouble (KGTV San
Diego, CA)
The CDC lists risk factors for syphilis during pregnancy as "sex with
multiple partners, sex in conjunction with drug use or transnational sex,
late entry into prenatal care ... methamphetamine or heroin use,
incarceration of the woman or her partner and unstable housing or
homelessness."
Information on the exact risk factors observed by public health
investigators who interview mothers after congenital syphilis is detected
in San Diego County was not available. Some mothers, Tilghman said in an
interview, refused to be interviewed or to answer some questions posed by
interviewers. However, an analysis of interviews showed that mothers of
half of the 30 cases in 2021 tested positive in labor and delivery. Nine
reported substance abuse while fewer than five reported incarceration or
homelessness. Thirteen said they had received prenatal care at least once
inside or outside the U.S., while 16 said they had none.
Early screening and treatment is seen as the most effective way to bring
congenital syphilis rates under control. In 2020, the California
Department of Public Health notified medical providers and public health
departments that women should not only have a syphilis test in the first
trimesters of their pregnancies but should also have a second test in
their third trimesters as some women became infected subsequent to first-
trimester testing.
For those living in areas with significant syphilis transmission who have
risk factors for the disease, another test is recommended at birth.
Last week, the California Department of Public Health issued a bulletin
aimed at eliminating congenital syphilis statewide, reiterating testing
guidelines and specifying additional testing in "non-traditional settings"
such as emergency departments, jails and through street medicine.
The county health department is working with the local chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics to focus on these particular settings with
the goal of reducing the number of babies born with syphilis.
Dr. Richard Silva, a hospital-based newborn specialist at UC San Diego
Health and a local physician champion for the AAP, said that an increasing
number of local hospitals are working to do more syphilis testing at birth
when risk factors are present and especially if there is no record of
prenatal care.
Telling a mother about to give birth, or who has just given birth, that
she needs to be tested is not easy. This is a disease that nobody wants to
think about.
"It's unfortunate, but I've gotten better at having this conversation just
because I've had to have it so many times," Silva said.
While a course of penicillin can cure those who test positive, and babies
are generally given the same doses as their mothers, additional testing is
necessary for newborns to determine whether the bacteria that causes the
disease has penetrated to various organ systems. This means newborns end
up being transferred from their mothers' arms to neonatal intensive care
units for blood tests, X-rays and even lumbar punctures to test cerebral
spinal fluid.
While the testing is necessary to determine what complications a child may
have later in life, separating parents and children so soon after birth is
painful.
"You know, we work so hard to make sure we get every newborn that time
after birth to bond through skin-to-skin contact, to work on
breastfeeding," Silva said. "We work so hard to keep that family unit
intact, because we know it's the best thing for the baby and it's the best
thing for the parents, so it's a real shame when we have to have this
separation."
The true tragedy of the congenital syphilis situation, notes Dr. Josue
Leon, medical director of women's care at Vista Community Clinic in North
County, is that prenatal care is widely available at zero cost through
federally qualified health centers throughout the region.
Programs have been bending over backwards for decades to tear down
barriers preventing access to prenatal care, and yet congenital syphilis
rates have continued to increase. Many women, for example, will decide not
to come in because they are late in their pregnancies and think they will
be turned away.
"The policy here and nationwide is regardless of how many weeks you are,
we'll take you, we want to see you," Leon said. "If you don't have
insurance, we'll take you. If you're homeless, we'll take you. We have
many homeless patients on our roster. We have incarcerated patients,
patients in shelters. If somebody calls and says, 'I cannot make my
appointment because I don't have transportation,' we will provide that
transportation either by sending a shuttle or by giving taxi vouchers."
As to what's driving this congenital syphilis surge, Leon says he often
asks women why they did not get prenatal care. The answers, he said, are
more often about scheduling than risky behavior.
"To me, it's mind boggling, but the only thing I can say is that I do
sometimes see disorganization," Leon said. "You know like, in their life,
a lot of things are going on and they are just all over the place.
"I've seen patients with good medical (coverage), and it goes beyond me
why they will not get prenatal care. Sometimes they will say, 'oh, no,
doctor, I was busy, I was busy with my other children."
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: sf.n...@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
Skeeter
Mar 26, 2023, 2:54:19 PM3/26/23
to
In article <lnsAFD3713F77...@0.0.0.2>, democrat-
crim...@mail.house.gov says...
Couldn't happen to a nicer state.
crim...@mail.house.gov says...
Lili
Mar 26, 2023, 4:40:05 PM3/26/23
to
J D Young
Mar 26, 2023, 7:42:11 PM3/26/23
to
On 26 Mar 2023, Lili <lilib...@gmail.com> posted some
news:2023032620350...@tidalhost.archiade.net:
> In article <lnsAFD3713F77...@0.0.0.2>
>
> #fuckmaga
It would be the best fuck you ever have.
news:2023032620350...@tidalhost.archiade.net:
> In article <lnsAFD3713F77...@0.0.0.2>
>
> #fuckmaga
It would be the best fuck you ever have.
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