WHO recommends syphilis testing, treatment during pregnancy

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Pretoria - Unless the testing for and treatment of syphilis in pregnancy is made universally available, over half of pregnancies in women with syphilis will result in an adverse outcome, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.

According to the WHO’s Work on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) report, 21% of pregnancies with untreated early syphilis result in stillbirth and 9% in neonatal death.

“In 2008, it was estimated that over 1.3 million cases of syphilis occurred globally among pregnant women and that a large proportion of these were untreated or inadequately treated.

“An estimated 520 000 cases resulted in adverse outcomes, including 305 000 stillbirths and neonatal deaths, that could have been averted with universal access to testing and treatment,” WHO noted.

In a bid to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of syphilis, the Gauteng Health Department has joined the WHO in warning pregnant women of the dangers of an increase in syphilis infections.

According to the National Antenatal Seroprevalence Survey (2012), the national prevalence of syphilis shows a 0.1% increase, where the prevalence was 1.5% in 2010 and 1.6% in 2011. In Gauteng, there was a slight drop of 2.9% in 2009 to 2.0% in 2011.

The department said it aims to screen at least 95% of pregnant women for syphilis at the first antenatal care visit. Testing for syphilis in all pregnant women is part of the basic antenatal care package recommended by WHO. However, not all women are tested for syphilis in pregnancy.

“Untreated syphilis in pregnancy leads to adverse outcomes, including stillbirth, low birth weight /prematurity, neonatal death and congenital disease in the new born. Syphilis also infects 5% or more of sex workers and men who have sex with men.

“An important component of STI case management is notifying and treating the sexual partners of infected patients. Counselling and behavioural interventions, such as condom use, offer primary prevention against STIs including HIV, as well as unintended pregnancies," said Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo.

He encouraged pregnant women to report to their nearest clinic for STI screening, so that they can receive treatment for all STIs and other underlying conditions.

The Health Minister had also announced in his budget vote that the department would intensify its campaign to screen people for STIs, as well as prepare for the roll-out of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine. – SAnews.gov.za