Congenital Syphilis – United States, 2003-2008

This report summarizes the results of a CDC analysis of recent trends in congenital syphilis (CS) rates, using national surveillance data from the years 2003-2008. Results show that after declining for 14 years, the CS rate among infants aged <1 year increased 23 percent, from 8.2 cases per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 10.1 during 2008. The increase followed a 38 percent increase in primary and secondary syphilis rate among females aged =10 years from 2004-2007. The report includes CS cases for each year 2003-2008 by race/ethnicity of mother, and region of birth for infants: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. It is noted that of the CS cases reported, many of the mothers did not receive prenatal care.