According to the State Department of Health, expanded screening and treatment is needed to address the increasing rate of syphilis cases in women and newborns across the state.

In a statement, Dr. Diana Felton, chief of the Department of Health Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division said, “All sexually active people with risk factors for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) should be regularly tested for syphilis and other STIs. For pregnant persons, we now recommend syphilis screening three times: as early as possible during the first trimester, at 28 to 32 weeks of gestation and at the time of delivery. It is important that sexual partners are also treated to prevent reinfection.”

Because most cases of congenital syphilis in Hawai‘i have been reported in people who received late or no prenatal care, the health department is urging enhanced screening in health care interactions other than prenatal care. Visits to emergency rooms, urgent care and primary care clinics present critical opportunities to identify and treat syphilis and prevent recurrence of congenital syphilis. DOH continues to strongly recommend that women begin receiving prenatal care as soon as they learn they are pregnant, ideally in the first trimester.

In Hawai‘i, the number of babies born with syphilis — known as congenital syphilis — ranged from zero to four cases per year from 2000 to 2019, 12 cases in 2020, and 20 cases in 2021. Preliminary data indicates at least 22 cases in 2022. This dramatic increase in congenital syphilis cases is associated with increasing infections in adults.

The health department is alerting health care providers to be vigilant in screening for cases of syphilis in people who may become pregnant and during pregnancy, and is emphasizing recommendations for diagnosing and treating cases.

For more information on syphilis infections in Hawai‘i as well as screening and treatment recommendations, visit https://health.hawaii.gov/harmreduction/learn-about-diseases/sexually-transmitted-infections/syphilis/.

Information on syphilis and pregnancy is available at https://health.hawaii.gov/harmreduction/syphilis-pregnancy/