CDC Reports Spike In Syphilis Among Newborns

05:52

September 28, 2018

This 1972 microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Treponema pallidum bacterium which causes the disease syphilis. A report released on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018, says that newborn syphilis infections are surging to the highest level in 20 years. (Susan Lindsley/CDC via AP)

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the number of children born with syphilis in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2013.

The state with the highest reported rate of congenital syphilis is Louisiana, according to the CDC.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Dr. Rebekah Gee (@rebekahgeemd), secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.

This segment aired on September 28, 2018.

CDC Reports Spike In Syphilis Among Newborns

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