Syphilis cases in the U.S. up 80% since 2018
3,755 congenital syphilis cases reported in 2022
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2022 STI Surveillance Report published today, 207,255 total syphilis cases were reported in the United States in 2022, representing an 80% increase since 2018 (113,739) and continuing a decades-long upward trend.
In addition, the report notes that 3,755 congenital syphilis cases were reported in 2022, a 30 percent increase compared to 2021 and more than 10 times the number diagnosed in 2012.
The surge in syphilis in the country prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic (NSCSS) Federal Task Force.
According to the HHS, the actions of the Task Force leverage federal resources to reduce rates, promote health equity, engage impacted communities and direct resources to support those most impacted by syphilis and congenital syphilis.
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HHS has taken a number of actions in the new year and continues to proactively stop the spread of syphilis:
In January 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the availability of Extencilline® in the United States to address the ongoing shortages of Bicillin L-A®. FDA exercised enforcement discretion for a temporary importation and use of Extencilline® to mitigate the effects of the Bicillin L-A® drug shortage. Extencilline® is currently authorized and marketed in other countries.
HHS is leading a workshop series to gather community input on how best to improve syphilis and congenital syphilis outcomes, including how to better support community efforts to improve health equity and support related syndemic, sexual, and reproductive health services. In January 2024, the series began with two workshops - one with American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and the other with providers who represent people disproportionately affected by syphilis and congenital syphilis. In February, additional workshops will be held on syphilis prevention, treatment, and other related issues.
In February 2024, HHS and CDC will co-host a provider roundtable on Congenital Syphilis Prevention. Health care providers have a critical role in reversing this alarming trend and protecting the health of our nation’s patients and their babies. The roundtable will focus on HHS available resources that providers can use to reduce the incidence of congenital syphilis and will solicit feedback on what additional resources are required to help reduce the rates of congenital syphilis.
The Department will continue to meet with the priority areas and hold engagement sessions focused on directing resources to support those most impacted.
The Department will continue to work with professional medical societies and national public health organizations to provide tools and information to help inform clinical care around congenital syphilis.
The Department plans to leverage funding flexibilities for grant programs to enhance use of grant funds, including staff time, for STI counseling, testing, and treatment services.
The Department will develop considerations for point-of-care testing in priority jurisdictions.
The Department will host a workshop on the expansion of syphilis treatment with NIH researchers.
“The syphilis crisis in our country is unacceptable. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to addressing this urgent issue and using all available means to eliminate disparities in our health care system,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These actions we are taking will help ensure we are improving outcomes for pregnant women and newborns. We must prevent more deaths caused by congenital syphilis, an entirely preventable disease.”
The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) released the following statement today following the release of the CDC data:
“The CDC’s latest STI data shows that our nation is facing a rapidly deteriorating public health crisis with real lives at stake. STIs – especially syphilis – will continue to spiral out of control until the administration and Congress provide communities with the funding they need to provide the most basic screening, treatment, and prevention services.”
“The 2022 surveillance data shows millions of people were impacted by entirely preventable infections. Increasingly, though, women and babies have been forced to bear the most devastating consequences of the nation’s STI epidemic as syphilis and congenital syphilis continue to rage with treatment shortages, workforce cuts, and attacks on women’s healthcare only adding to the fire. The newly announced federal syphilis task force and the limited import of Extencilline are steps in the right direction, but the nation needs a response that fully meets the moment: one that pairs the new attention from HHS with the resources communities need to restore last year’s public health workforce cuts and implement the basic screening and treatment services HHS recommends”
"The 2022 data shows hundreds of lives lost and millions of infections, but it doesn’t yet reflect the workforce cuts and drug shortages states have experienced in the time since – the reality is that the 2023 data will be worse. The Biden administration deserves praise for putting the spotlight on the most severe consequence of the nation’s STI epidemic – congenital syphilis – but we know all too well that federal leadership will prove hollow if communities don’t have the funding they need to get the job done.”
In 2022, more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were reported in the United States.