Parkland Health is partnering with UT Southwestern Medical Center and Dallas County Health and Human Services to provide free screening, testing and education around maternal syphilis as cases continue to rise.
According to the 2022 Dallas County Community Health Needs Assessment, syphilis cases have increased every year since 2013, and overwhelmingly impact Black and Hispanic people.
A 2022 report from the Texas Department of State Health Services showed more than 7,000 cases of syphilis that year in Texas. Nearly 1,000 of those were congenital syphilis cases, where a person with syphilis passes it on to their baby during pregnancy.
Syphilis has also been increasing nationally: A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed syphilis rates have risen 80% since 2018.
“While it's a frustrating and concerning trend, I haven't been surprised by the reports from the CDC because it's what we've been seeing for the past several years,” said Helen King, the infectious diseases service chief at Parkland.
Syphilis is transmitted through sexual contact or in utero through the bloodstream, according to the CDC. Syphilis has three stages: Initially, patients might have small bumps or lesions, but then progress to rashes on the body, hair loss, and larger lesions.
King said later stages of syphilis “can be really devastating and can affect the organs and brain.”
Without intervention during pregnancy, infant syphilis can cause pneumonia, anemia, low birthweight and even death.
Emily Adhikari, the medical director of perinatal infectious diseases for Parkland Health, said syphilis can be asymptomatic, or it “masquerades as a very benign pregnancy rash.” If someone is asymptomatic, the only way to know, she said, is to get a lab test.
“If you notice any kind of lumps or bumps or lesions, any kind of rashes, you don't know what they are, think syphilis,” Adhikari said. “Ask the question, ‘Hey, have we tested me for syphilis?’ And if not, let's do it today.”
Both Adhikari and King stress the importance of routine STI testing, especially when sexually active.
“I do want people to know that your health care providers are ready and want you to have those discussions,” King said. “We want you to be healthy, and we want you to get preventative care and avoid any potential long-term consequences from sexually transmitted infections.”
Adhikari also said she’s working with the Texas Medical Association to improve resources and education for doctors to support patients with syphilis.
“It's one of the most highly complex problems that we are all recognizing right now,” she said. “And so, [we’re] really trying to band together to coordinate across agencies and across institutions to try to solve [it].”
Community members can call Parkland Health’s STI hotline at 214-266-7837 for support and resources.
Elena Rivera is KERA’s health reporter. Got a tip? Email Elena at erivera@kera.org
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