Syphilis outbreak in Houston declares 128% rise in cases among women

In an official statement released on Thursday, July 13, the Houston Health Department declared a syphilis outbreak with a 128 percent increase in cases among women. The aforementioned statistics show an enormous rise in the city and the area surrounding Harris County since 2019. It also marks a whopping ninefold increase in congenital cases.

According to reports from the department, new cases of the infection rose by 57 percent over the course of three years - 2019-2022. It reveals 2905 new cases in 2022 in comparison to 1845 cases in 2019.

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Congenital syphilis outbreak in 2023 takes Houston by storm

Congenital Syphilis on a sharp rise in Houston (Image via Houston Chronicle)

The year 2022 saw 674 syphilis cases among women, which was a sharp increase from 295 infections in the year 2019. However, what is even more concerning is the 151 cases of congenital cases that hit 2021 as compared to only 16 in 2016.

Congenital syphilis occurs when the bacterial infection from a pregnant person passes on to the baby in the womb. If left untreated, it can lead to severe damage to the baby’s organs or even to stillbirth.

The deputy assistant director of the Houston Health Department’s Bureau of HIV/STI and Viral Hepatitis Prevention, Marlene McNeese Ward, recently opened up on the situation. According to her statement, a pregnant woman should get tested for syphilis thrice during their pregnancy. This should include testing in their prenatal stage, during the third trimester, and finally, at delivery.

The health department has decided to waive all clinical fees at its health centers in the case of sexually transmitted infections, along with increasing the use of its HIV/STI mobile clinic. These decisions were duly informed to the public in their official statement release.

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What is Syphilis? What are the symptoms of Syphilis in women?

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by the bacteria Treponema Pallidum. It spreads to both men and women through sexual contact and can be difficult to diagnose. However, if left untreated, the disease can severely compromise multiple bodily functions over time.

The disease can get transmitted if a person comes in direct contact with syphilitic chancres or sores. These sores can develop on or around the mouth, penis, anus, or vagina.

The onset of the infection is divided into three stages, namely, the primary, the secondary, and the latent or late stages.

The symptoms in the primary stage include:

• Onset between 10 to 90 days and an average of 21 days after exposure.
• The occurrence of open sore(s) on the genitals, anus, or mouth, marking the location through which syphilis has entered the body.
• The sore(s) may be painless, which might make it difficult to locate them inside the rectum or the vagina.
• The sores generally last from 3 weeks to 6 weeks with or without treatment. Timely treatment will prevent the disease from advancing to the next stage.

The symptoms in the secondary are as follows:

• The secondary stage usually begins with a rash on one or multiple spots on the body. These may appear like red or reddish-brown dots on the palms and on the bottoms of the feet.
• Other symptoms may include swollen lymph glands, sore throat, fever, patchy hair loss, weight loss, fatigue, and muscle aches. The patient may develop lesions known as condyloma lata that might appear like warts in warm moist areas of the body.

The following symptoms appear in the latent or last stages

• In this stage, the symptoms usually go away. However, the bacteria remain in the body due to the lack of treatment.
• The late-stage symptoms can include blindness, numbness, dementia, and loss of hearing. It can also lead to paralysis, failure to move one or multiple parts of the body, and the inability to coordinate muscle movements.
• The late stages of the infection may lead to death due to the damage caused by it to the internal organs.

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The Houston Health Department advises testing for syphilis in pregnant women at three stages during the pregnancy. It also recommends testing for people with multiple or anonymous sex partners, those who have had unprotected sex, and those who have recently been diagnosed with other STDs.