Syphilis in pregnant women and their children in the United Kingdom: results from national clinician reporting surveys 1994-7

Abstract

Objective To measure the incidence of syphilis detected in pregnancy and congenital syphilis in the United Kingdom.

Congenital syphilis in the United Kingdom

“…Between 1994 and 1997, enhanced surveillance of congenital syphilis was undertaken by the Public Health Laboratory Service (now the Health Protection Agency) in collaboration with specialists in genitourinary medicine (the British Cooperative Clinical Group) and the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health). 8 Nine presumed cases of congenital syphilis were identified over the 3 years, this at the nadir of syphilis diagnosis in the United Kingdom. To estimate the burden of cases associated with congenital syphilis, this survey needs to be repeated and include specialists in obstetrics and gynaecology.…”

Syphilis is on the increase: the implications for child health

“…Localised outbreaks in the UK have been associated with sex workers and cocaine usage 8 10. An earlier study performed by the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) commented on an over-representation of pregnant women from ethnic minorities born outside the UK treated for syphilis in the Thames region 11. Recent reports have raised concerns that current antenatal testing may be inadequate for the identification and treatment of women at risk 11 – 13.…”

“…An earlier study performed by the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) commented on an over-representation of pregnant women from ethnic minorities born outside the UK treated for syphilis in the Thames region 11. Recent reports have raised concerns that current antenatal testing may be inadequate for the identification and treatment of women at risk 11 – 13. These concerns are reinforced by recent data from the HPA, which identified 36 cases of congenital syphilis in the UK in 2005, the highest number in 10 years 14…”

Prevalencia de sífilis en mujeres gestantes atendidas por el Programa de Protección a la Gestante (PPG) y reporte de aborto en el Estado de Sergipe, Brasil

“…Cuando la mujer adquiere sífilis durante el embarazo, pueden ocurrir eventos como: aborto espontáneo, muerte fetal, prematuridad, fetal hidrópico, recién nacidos sintomáticos y asintomáticos. Cuanto más temprano afecte al feto, más graves son las consecuencias 5 . Las alteraciones patológicas observadas en mujeres embarazadas son las mismas que ocurren en aquellas no embarazadas 6 .…”