Tonight, we need to talk about something many people thought belonged in history books, but it is very much part of our present. According to a recent report from The Hill, Syphilis is making a comeback in the United States, and Florida is not an exception. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the congenital syphilis cases are now 700 percent higher nationwide than they were just over a decade ago.
Congenital syphilis happens when syphilis is passed from a pregnant person to their baby. The consequences can be devastating. Miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death, and lifelong medical complications, including organ damage and bone deformities.
According to Dr Khalil Ghanem, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, “Overall, 10 percent of patients who are not treated for syphilis wind up dying from this infection. Syphilis is a cruel disease.” But it is also curable.
Now, let’s talk about Florida. Florida reported 235 cases of congenital syphilis in 2023, with a prevalence rate of 104.7 cases per 100,000 live births, placing our state among the highest in the nation. Beyond infants, Florida also reported thousands of new syphilis infections across early, late, and unknown stages, showing this crisis extends far beyond pregnancy alone. Syphilis does not appear during pregnancy out of nowhere.
It is transmitted sexually, often weeks or months earlier, frequently by partners who do not know they are infected. Many men never notice symptoms, or symptoms disappear on their own without treatment. Florida does require syphilis testing during pregnancy, not once but multiple times. The CDC now recommends routine syphilis screening for all sexually active people ages 15 to 44 in high-prevalence areas. That includes men. That includes LGBTQ people. And that includes FLORIDA.
