State renews public health order for increased syphilis testing as congenital cases continue to rise

With a growing number of congenital syphilis cases, state officials this week renewed a public health order dating back to 2021, encouraging physicians to increase testing for the sexually transmitted disease.

The New Mexico Department of Health order asks medical providers to increase testing in people aged 18 to 50 and in pregnant women during their first and third trimesters and at delivery.

The recommendation comes as congenital syphilis — the transfer of the STD from a mother to her baby during pregnancy or at birth — has spiked 20% from 2022 to 2023, according to DOH.

State health officials said reported congenital syphilis cases stood at 91 last year, up from 76 in the previous year.

However, that number has been trending upward, prompting state health officials to issue the public health order in 2021. According to a DOH report, there were 10 reported cases of congenital syphilis in 2018. That increased to 26 in 2019 and 43 by 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022 ranked New Mexico No.1 for the rate of reported cases of congenital syphilis among all 50 states. A separate ranking from the CDC in 2022 also put New Mexico No. 2 in primary and secondary syphilis cases, trailing only South Dakota.

Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for DOH, told the Journal that 91 cases of congenital syphilis may not seem “like a terribly high number,” but called it “just such a preventable situation.” She noted that 16 of those reported cases resulted in fetal deaths and one infant death.

“It just feels like a failure of the health care system that we (aren’t) preventing this,” Durham said. “We do see it as a big problem.”

Durham said while congenital syphilis cases continue to rise, primary and secondary syphilis cases look to be trending downward among women aged 15 to 44, noting that preliminary data for cases this year “looks like it’s continued to drop.”

“I think there will be a little lag — it’s a good sign that primary and secondary is coming down in women,” Durham said. “It’ll probably take another year or two to see that same decrease in congenital syphilis.”

Durham said there are different stages of syphilis, including primary, secondary, latent and tertiary. She said symptoms can include lesions in the genital or oral areas of the body, hair loss and swollen lymph nodes. Syphilis, if left untreated, can also lead to serious health issues, including hearing and vision loss, she added.

Durham said the state has several public health offices across the state that offer free STD testing. She said those interested in having their questions answered on testing can also call DOH’s helpline at 1-833-796-8773.