Public Health Out Loud

What You Need to Know About Congenital Syphilis

Dr. Philip Chan, Rhode Island Department of Health

The CDC recently released data showing that nationally, there has been a sharp rise in congenital syphilis. Cases have more than tripled in recent years in the US, with 3,700 cases reported in 2022 alone. Here in Rhode Island we’ve seen several cases of congenital syphilis after over a decade of having none.  What is causing this increase and what can be done to prevent it from happening? On this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined  Dr. Erica Hardy, Director for the Division of Infectious Disease at Women & Infants Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics, and Gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University to discuss the answers to these questions and more.