By Ethan Covey
Rates of maternal syphilis more than tripled from 2016 to 2022, from 87.2 to 280.4 cases per 100,000 births, according to a CDC report.
Overall, rates of primary and secondary syphilis have increased nearly every year since 2001 and 2002, when they reached historically low levels (NCHS Data Brief No. 496, February 2024).
“The rise in syphilis during pregnancy and the rise of syphilis in newborns is concerning,” said Robert McDonald, MD, a medical officer in the