Congenital syphilis, transmitted to babies during pregnancy, can double the risk of mortality up to 2 years of age. Between 2011 and 2017, it caused 2,476 infant and child deaths. The data, released this Tuesday (18) by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), were collected by researchers from several institutions and resulted in a study published in the scientific journal PLOS Medicine. Transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy can be avoided with treatment, and a high rate of congenital syphilis is an indicator of deficiencies in the care network. Screening for syphilis during pregnancy is considered simple, with testing during prenatal care, as well as treatment, which needs to be extended to the mother’s sexual partner to prevent reinfection from occurring. According to the study, 93,525 cases of congenital syphilis were registered in the country between 2011 and 2017, which caused 2,400 deaths, most of them in the first year of life. Among diagnosed children, 17.3% were born prematurely, 17.2% had low birth weight, and 13.1% were small for gestational age. The researchers warn that the number of cases increased after the period studied, reaching 27,019 in 2021 alone, according to an epidemiological bulletin from the Ministry of Health. In addition, they suspect that there may be underreporting, because the survey found deaths from congenital syphilis that had not been reported. Inequality The study shows that, among the more than 93,000 cases of congenital syphilis diagnosed during the period studied, 65.59% received incomplete treatment during pregnancy, and almost 30% of mothers had no access to any treatment. The incidence of the disease mainly affects the most vulnerable population, with higher rates among children of young, black and brown women with few years of schooling. Among mothers who did not receive adequate treatment, 44.84% attended school for less than 7 years and 76% were black or brown. Silent disease Researcher Enny Paixão, associated with Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), led the study. She explained that most babies are asymptomatic at birth or have nonspecific signs and symptoms. In the studied group, approximately 10% of the children had recorded symptoms, the most common being jaundice (yellowish coloration of the skin, eyes and mucous membrane), enlarged liver and anemia. Another difficulty in diagnosing a baby is that there is no reliable laboratory test that identifies asymptomatic babies at birth. As a result, babies may not have access to the necessary treatment to mitigate the consequences of the infection on their health, until a symptom appears. The survey followed data from 20 million children born in the country, through the Information System on Live Births (Sinasc), the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Notifiable Diseases Information System (Sinan-Síphilis). The Center for Integration of Data and Knowledge for Health (Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia), the Institute of Collective Health of the Federal University of Bahia (Isc/Ufba), the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics of Ufba, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (Cefet-MG), and the National School of Public Health (Ensp/Fiocruz).
Agência Brasil
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