A Review of the Literature of Syphilis in Infancy and Childhood

Abstract

The statement has recently been made 1 that not a single estimate of the prevalence of syphilis in the general population can stand the test of examination. The reason is that no study has represented a fair cross section of society. The majority of the studies have been made among the sick poor and it is obviously unfair to apply such statistics to the general population. Jeans,2 from a review of the literature, estimated that in the poorer class from 10 to 20 per cent. of adult males and 10 per cent, of married women are syphilitic. Estimates among adults of the better class vary widely. McLester 3 found 18 per cent, of 567 private patients seen in consultation to be syphilitic. Day and McNitt,4 in a survey of hospital admissions, found that among the well-to-do 6 per cent, had positive Wassermann reactions. This is contrasted with 13 per cent, in the middle class and 20 per cent. in the poor whites during the same time period. Cornell and Stillians5 found 3.6 per cent, of pregnant women in private practice to have a positive Wassermann reaction, while in charity hospital practice 10 per cent, of the pregnant women had a positive Wassermann. It seems evident that the higher in the social scale the lower the incidence of syphilis. This naturally has a bearing on the frequency of hereditary syphilis. Jeans,2 from a review of the literature, concluded that from 5 to 6 per cent, of the living infants of the poorer class in this country have syphilis. The incidence among older children is lower (from 2 to 3 per cent.) no doubt due to the higher death rate among syphilitic infants. Lacapère and Laurent6 state that in Morocco scarcely 30 per cent, of the inhabitants escape. Lange7 found 2.8 per cent, of the total number of children admitted to the Frankfurt