British stone. LOUIS — Health leaders in St. Louis and St. Louis County are sounding the alarm.
They are seeing an increase in cases of sexually transmitted diseases and are concerned about the impact this will have on newborns. Officials say there’s still much work to be done to provide more resources for pregnant women.
Health officials say there have been nearly five dozen cases of children born with syphilis in the city and county over the past few years.
That’s more cases than the past two decades combined. They say the growing numbers should sound alarm bells.
“Wherever you have one STI, you’re more likely to get another STI,” said Suzanne Alexander of the St. Louis Health Department.
City and county leaders issued a public health alert Thursday, advising of “an increased incidence of HIV and syphilis co-infection.” They worry that people are contracting these diseases and not being tested or treated, putting newborns at risk.
“The longer she has syphilis without prenatal care, the greater the risk to her baby,” Alexander said.
On the low end, she said, this could result in: “Mild neurocognitive delays. We might look for some bone problems, weaknesses or abnormal growth.”
In the worst-case scenario: “(The baby) could also be born with a substance abuse disorder themselves.”
Health officials say Missouri and other states don’t have laws in place but can provide assistance.
“Missouri does not mandate testing in the third trimester. They test at the time of delivery. By then it is too late to treat the cause of congenital syphilis,” Alexander said.
On the other hand, she said, a mother with syphilis who gets treatment early may result in her baby being born without the disease.
“One of the simplest things we can do is start testing all pregnant moms later in pregnancy…and then we need to make sure every pregnant mom
In St. Louis, they can get prenatal care where they are, which means we can see them where they are,” she said.
Health departments are working to overcome barriers, such as stigma, transportation or childcare issues that prevent people from getting tested.
One idea they are considering is creating more mobile nurse practitioners and using faith-based leaders to help reduce the taboo around the subject.
You can read the public health alert here.