- A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that syphilis cases are the highest they’ve been since the 1950s.
- Congenital syphilis—when a mother passes the condition to an unborn baby—has also jumped 937% in the past decade.
- Experts recommend seeing a doctor if you believe you’ve been exposed to syphilis, as well as wearing condoms or dental dams anytime you have sex with someone who isn’t your regular partner to decrease your risk of infection.
Syphilis cases in the United States are the highest they’ve been since the 1950s, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
These numbers aren’t just based on a gradual increase—syphilis cases rose by nearly 80% between 2018 and 2022.
While no particular age group or U.S. region saw more cases than others, the CDC noted that racial and ethnic minorities are the most impacted by the recent syphilis spikes.
Rates of congenital syphilis—syphilis passed from the mother to baby during childbirth—also jumped in the past decade, going up 937%. In 2022 alone, there were 3,755 cases of babies born with congenital syphilis in the U.S.
The CDC has called the increase in syphilis cases “alarming” and said it flagged an “urgent need” for intervention.
Here’s why syphilis cases are increasing, as well as how to get screened and treated for syphilis.
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Syphilis Cases Have Increased Steadily Since 2018
Syphilis isn’t the only STI with recent spikes—chlamydia and gonorrhea cases have also seen increases in recent years.
But neither chlamydia nor gonorrhea cases have risen as sharply and as consistently as syphilis, which has climbed steadily since 2018.
The report didn’t call out the reasons for this increase—it merely found that it’s happening.
“There has been a continuing trend of increasing rates of syphilis and congenital syphilis in the U.S.,” Joseph Cherabie, MD, sexual healthcare expert and assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, told Health. “It’s indicative of the state of public health in the U.S.”
Cherabie explained that this is indicative of the state of public health in the U.S., which has been “underfunded and stretched thin for some time” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mpox.
“That certainly affected health departments’ ability to detect STIs,” he said.
In addition to health departments being spread thin, people’s ability to get screened for STIs decreased.
Funding for sexual health clinics has dropped in recent years, and many primary care offices don’t offer specific STI screenings, Kevin Ard, MD, an infectious disease physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, told Health.
As for the increase in congenital syphilis, Cherabie said that it’s common for these to increase when cases of syphilis jump up.
Condom Use and Syphilis
According to Cherabie, condom use is declining, which contributes to the spread of STIs like syphilis.
Another possible reason syphilis cases are rising is the condition’s ability to go unnoticed initially.
Since syphilis has different symptoms from other common STIs, people may not notice it and take the initiative to get screened for it right away.
“It often presents with a painless sore or ulcer that goes away,” Justin Dubin, MD, a urologist and men’s health specialist with the Memorial Healthcare System, told Health.
Dubin referred to syphilis as “the great pretender” because it can mimic other conditions. And, since it requires a different test from more common STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhea, it can go undetected and spread.
When syphilis progresses, it can lead to symptoms like fever, sore throat, headaches, and fatigue, which eventually go away. However, the disease can still be passed on, and can even cause serious complications like damage to the heart and brain, deafness, and paralysis.
Syphilis treatment has seen a few hurdles lately, largely due to the shortage of Bicillin, an antibiotic that’s used to treat syphilis, Cherabie explained.
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Getting Screened For Syphilis
One of the main issues in the rise of syphilis cases is a lack of regular screening.
Syphilis tests involve two steps: a screening test to look for antibodies linked to having a syphilis infection and another test to confirm you have the disease. These are usually blood tests.
Cherabie explained that because the tests are specific to syphilis, healthcare providers usually need to have a suspicion that you may have the disease in advance or test you for it as part of routine screening.
However, it’s also important to be screened for syphilis during pregnancy.
“Congenital syphilis is arguably the worst manifestation of syphilis and can be prevented with appropriate screening and treatment,” Ard said.
Lowering Your Risk of Syphilis
You can lower your risk of syphilis by using condoms and dental dams when you have sex with someone who isn’t your regular partner.
“They’re not 100% effective at preventing infections, but it does significantly decrease the risk,” Dubin said.
If you suspect or know that you’ve been exposed to syphilis, you also may qualify for something called doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis. This can “substantially reduce the risk of syphilis” when it’s taken three days after sex with someone who is infected, Ard explained.
If you happen to develop a bump or lesion on your penis or vagina, Dubin said it’s important to get it checked out.
Cherabie recommends sexually active people get tested for syphilis at least once a year, if not more often.
“I typically say, ‘If you have any new sexual partners, come in every three to six months and we’ll see if there’s anything asymptomatic going on,’” he said.
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