Cases of syphilis in newborns is on the rise nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control — and Arizona is seeing a similar increase.

"And syphilis has actually been increasing in Arizona since about 2014," said Rebecca Scranton with the Arizona Department of Health Services. 

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that can be transmitted to an unborn child. But  symptoms, she says, can be subtle and may be missed.

"It's actually called the great imitator because it's very easy to not notice the symptoms, and they go away without treatment. The problem is, even if the symptoms go away, health outcomes, like the death of a baby can still happen."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Syphilis, which is caused by the bacterium, Treponema pallidum (pictured), is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore.

Last year, more than 100 babies were born with syphilis, including nine who were stillborn. 

"We're at about 166 preliminary cases for 2021," she explained. "Now that number because these cases are really difficult to investigate and classify. It does take us some time to really refine that number. We expect it's actually going to go up and be a little bit higher by the time we close out our data in the next month or two."

Scranton says a woman should also be screened at least three times during pregnancy: at the first prenatal visit; then again early in the third trimester and at delivery. Screening is critical, she adds, because negative outcomes can be mitigated with treatment.