Mother-to-child syphilis transmission rose for a 12th straight year
For Immediate Release: September 24, 2025
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, [email protected], 919-749-7309
Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released provisional 2024 STI data that shows some signs of progress in the nation’s STI epidemic, but that America is still failing to adequately respond to deadly mother-to-infant syphilis transmission. While the provisional numbers show a 9% decline in overall STI numbers in 2024, congenital syphilis rose to a record high for a 12th straight year. Elizabeth Finley, Interim Executive Director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), issued the following statement:
“The latest CDC data is a hopeful sign that the nation is making progress on an out-of-control STI epidemic, but we have far more work to do before Americans can feel sufficiently protected. The continued rise in congenital syphilis is a distressing indication that we are not doing enough to protect pregnant women and newborns from the deadly and preventable consequences of syphilis transmission during pregnancy.”
“The CDC data shows us that progress is possible, and we are encouraged that the Trump administration and Congress have included STI prevention in their vision for America’s public health. We must coordinate right now to fight the resurgence of congenital syphilis – a disease that had once been almost completely eliminated in America.”
“We call on the Trump administration to make sure states and cities can win this fight by giving them the resources, information, effective workforce, and modernized systems they need to protect every American, and particularly our most vulnerable infants. A coordinated effort can continue this new progress on the nation’s STI epidemic and turn the tide on congenital syphilis so we can stop mother-to-child syphilis transmission once and for all.”
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