Congenital Syphilis Kills Hundreds With Treatment in Short Supply
- CDC says 282 babies and fetuses died in 2022 from the disease
- Pfizer’s Bicillin L-A can stop the disease but supply is tight
While doxycycline can effectively treat syphilis, it’s less convenient — Bicillin L-A usually treats the disease with one or two injections, but doxycycline requires weeks of pills.
Photographer: Viktor Cvetkovic/Getty ImagesHundreds of babies and fetuses died last year from congenital syphilis in the US, and an ongoing shortage of the only drug that can prevent the disease is putting more lives at risk.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called Tuesday for “exceptional measures” to address the rapidly increasing rates of congenital syphilis. Those include screening more people and treating patients who get a positive rapid test — even if their case hasn’t been confirmed. The Department of Health and Human Services has also assembled a federal task force to address the issue, the CDC said.