'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
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 13, 2023 9:22 AM CST
Updated Feb 18, 2023 4:35 PM CST
This State Saw 900% Spike in Newborn STD
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/SeventyFour)

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 10 in 2016 to 102 last year, reports NBC News. This new info comes via an analysis of hospital billing data conducted by Dr. Thomas Dobbs, who heads up the Crossroads Clinic run by the state's Department of Health. That agency hasn't yet released its final numbers for 2021, but preliminary stats align with Dobbs' findings, and it noted that at least one baby died last year from the sexually transmitted disease.

Dobbs says that about 40% of women who contract syphilis while pregnant go on to miscarry, reports WKRG. The STD can also lead to early births, stillbirths, and low birth weight. Infants who contract syphilis can end up suffering from a range of problems, including serious anemia, an enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, loss of eyesight or hearing, meningitis, and misshapen bones, per the Guardian. In severe cases, the babies can even die. "It is truly a very devastating condition," pediatrician Dr. Braveen Ragunanthan, of Mississippi's Delta Health and Bolivar Medical Center, tells NBC.

Meanwhile, racial disparities have also emerged: In 2020, 70% of Mississippi's congenital syphilis cases were found in Black infants, despite Black babies making up only 42% of live births there that year. The infection can be prevented in a newborn if the mother receives penicillin shots at least a month before the baby is born. But the fear of missing work, lack of transportation, a dearth of OB-GYNs, and delays in insurance approvals are among the reasons why many women in the state end up having a delay in that necessary care.

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Subpar prenatal treatment has also been exacerbated by staffing issues that worsened during the pandemic. "You have to have the manpower to diagnose the patients, then do contact tracing and follow up to make sure they're continuing to come back for treatment," infectious disease specialist Dr. Steve Threlkeld tells WKRG, stressing that anyone who's pregnant and engaging in risky sexual behavior should get tested. The recent stats have proven alarming to medical experts. "This seems like something that should have happened a hundred years ago, not last year," Dobbs tells NBC. "There's really kind of a shock." (More Mississippi stories.)

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