Congenital syphilis cases in Eastern Virginia dropped 25%, officials said Wednesday, May 28 — a decline that comes as the infection has been climbing across much of the United States in recent years.
The figures were reported by 13newsnow.com. No breakdown of raw case counts was included, and officials did not specify which localities or health districts fall under the Eastern Virginia designation in their reporting.
Congenital syphilis occurs when a pregnant person with untreated syphilis passes the infection to the fetus. It can cause stillbirth, low birth weight, and serious organ damage in newborns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked a years-long national surge in cases, making any regional decline notable — though public health experts have cautioned that single-year drops don’t always hold.
It isn’t clear from the report what time period the 25% figure covers, which agency compiled the data, or what public health interventions — if any — officials credited for the change. A spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Health hadn’t responded to a request for comment as of publication.
Reported by 13newsnow.com. Read the original report.
