Maternal and neonatal infections

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Congenital syphilis, syphilis in pregnancy

Americas, Oceania

• International Journal for Equity in Health
  • Maternal and congenital syphilis in Indigenous Peoples: a scoping review of the worldwide literature [2023]

Australia

• Department of Health and Aged Care
  • An audit on the management and outcomes of infants at risk of congenital syphilis in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia, 2005-2013 [2018]

• NSW Health
  • Syphilis in Pregnancy and Newborns

• Queensland Health
  • Syphilis and pregnancy (guideline supplement)
  • Syphilis and pregnancy

• SA Health
  • Syphilis in Pregnancy and the Neonate

• WA Health
  • Syphilis: Investigation and management of the neonate born to a mother with syphilis

Brazil

• BMC Public Health
  • Spatial and trend analysis of gestational syphilis cases in Brazil from 2011 to 2020: an ecological study [2024]

• BMJ Open
  • Spatial scenery of congenital syphilis in Brazil between 2007 and 2018: an ecological study [2022]

• Cadernos de Saúde Pública
  • Adequacy of prenatal care, diagnosis and treatment of syphilis in pregnancy: a study with open data from Brazilian state capitals [2020]

• Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
  • Health care of sexual partners of adolescents with gestational syphilis and their children: an integrative review [2024]
  • Diagnosis and treatment of syphilis in pregnant women at the services of Primary Care [2022]

• Emerging Infectious Diseases
  • Congenital Syphilis as a Measure of Maternal and Child Healthcare, Brazil [2019]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Temporal Trend of Gestational Syphilis between 2008 and 2018 in Brazil: Association with Socioeconomic and Health Care Factors [2022]

• International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
  • Syphilis in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: A nationwide longitudinal study in Brazil [2024]

• International Journal of Infectious Diseases
  • Failure to Recognize Low Non-Treponemal Titer Syphilis Infections in Pregnancy May Lead to Widespread Under-Treatment [2021]

• PLoS Medicine
  • Mortality in children under 5 years of age with congenital syphilis in Brazil: A nationwide cohort study [2023]

• Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
  • Prevalence of syphilis and associated factors among pregnant women in Brazil: systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]

• Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira
  • Trend analysis of clinical aspects of congenital syphilis in Brazil, 2009–2018 [2021]

• Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
  • Brazilian Protocol for Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2020: congenital syphilis and child exposed to syphilis [2021]
  • Congenital syphilis in Brazil: distribution of cases notified from 2009 to 2016 [2020]

• Revista de Saúde Pública
  • Effect of the coverage of rapid tests for syphilis in primary care on the syphilis in pregnancy in Brazil [2021]
  • Prevalence of syphilis in pregnancy and prenatal syphilis testing in Brazil: Birth in Brazil study [2014]

• Revista Paulista de Pediatria
  • In time: the persistence of congenital syphilis in Brazil - More progress needed! [2016]

Brazil, Portugal

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Clinical Protocols and Treatment Guidelines for the Management of Maternal and Congenital Syphilis in Brazil and Portugal: Analysis and Comparisons: A Narrative Review [2022]

Cambodia

• BMJ Open
  • Challenges and outcomes of implementing a national syphilis follow-up system for the elimination of congenital syphilis in Cambodia: a mixed-methods study [2023]

Cameroon

• PLoS ONE
  • Highlighting a population-based re-emergence of Syphilis infection and assessing associated risk factors among pregnant women in Cameroon: Evidence from the 2009, 2012 and 2017 national sentinel surveillance surveys of HIV and syphilis [2020]

Canada

• Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology
  • Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network laboratory guidelines for congenital syphilis and syphilis screening in pregnant women in Canada [2015]

• Canadian Paediatric Society
  • Diagnosis and management of congenital syphilis – Avoiding missed opportunities [2024]

• Perinatal Services BC
  • Syphilis

China

• China CDC Weekly
  • Screening and Treatment of Syphilis for Pregnant Women — China, 2011-2018 [2020]

Croatia

• EuroSurveillance
  • Worrying increase in the risk of vertical transmission of syphilis in Croatia, 2020 to 2024 [2024]

Ethiopia

• Systematic Reviews
  • Sero-prevalence of syphilis and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2021]

Europe

• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
  • Congenital syphilis - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2023 [2025]
  • Congenital syphilis

Ghana

• BMC Health Services Research
  • Rollout of rapid point of care tests for antenatal syphilis screening in Ghana: healthcare provider perspectives and experiences [2018]

India

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare India
  • Screening for Syphilis During Pregnancy [2014]

• World Health Organization
  • The national strategy & operational guidelines towards elimination of congenital syphylis [2015]

International

• BMJ Open
  • Evaluation of the WHO/CDC Syphilis Serology Proficiency Programme to support the global elimination of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: an observational cross-sectional study, 2008–2015 [2020]

• Children
  • Congenital Syphilis-An Illustrative Review [2023]

• International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
  • Accelerating Dual Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission of Syphilis and HIV Through Use of New Diagnostic Tools [2015]

• PLoS Medicine
  • Shortages of benzathine penicillin for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: An evaluation from multi-country surveys and stakeholder interviews [2017]

• PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
  • The Global Epidemiology of Syphilis in the Past Century – A Systematic Review Based on Antenatal Syphilis Prevalence [2016]

• PLoS ONE
  • Global burden of maternal and congenital syphilis and associated adverse birth outcomes—Estimates for 2016 and progress since 2012 [2019]
  • Estimating Benzathine Penicillin Need for the Treatment of Pregnant Women Diagnosed with Syphilis during Antenatal Care in High-Morbidity Countries [2016]

• Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters
  • Syphilis management in pregnancy: a review of guideline recommendations from countries around the world [2019]

Iran

• Journal of Family & Reproductive Health
  • The Prevalence of Anti-Syphilis Antibody in Iranian Pregnant Women [2021]

Japan

• Emerging Infectious Diseases
  • Effectiveness and Tolerability of Oral Amoxicillin in Pregnant Women with Active Syphilis, Japan, 2010–2018 [2020]

• Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
  • Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Congenital Syphilis in Japan, 2023: Executive Summary [2025]

Low and middle income countries

• Journal of Global Health
  • Evaluating coverage of maternal syphilis screening and treatment within antenatal care to guide service improvements for prevention of congenital syphilis in Countdown 2030 Countries [2020]

• PLoS ONE
  • The impact of antenatal syphilis point of care testing on pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review [2021]

Mexico

• BMC Infectious Diseases
  • Re-emergence of syphilis in women of reproductive age and its association with the increase in congenital syphilis in Mexico during 2010–2019: an ecological study [2021]

New Zealand

• New Zealand Sexual Health Society
  • Syphilis in Pregnancy - Antenatal Management Guidelines for maternal and congenital syphilis [2020]

Paraguay

• Bulletin of the World Health Organization
  • WHO method for estimating congenital syphilis to inform surveillance and service provision, Paraguay [2022]

Peru

• PLoS ONE
  • Rapid Syphilis Testing Is Cost-Effective Even in Low-Prevalence Settings: The CISNE-PERU Experience [2016]

Poland

• Advances in Dermatology and Allergology
  • Syphilis and a pregnant woman: a real danger for the woman and the child [2019]

Republic of Korea

• BMC Pediatrics
  • Outcomes of infants born to pregnant women with syphilis: a nationwide study in Korea [2021]

South Africa

• Journal of Tropical Pediatrics
  • Gaps in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: a review of reported cases, South Africa, January 2020-June 2022 [2024]

Sri Lanka

• Ministry of Health Sri Lanka
  • Guidelines on Management of Pregnant Women with Syphilis 2024 [2024]

Sub-Saharan Africa

• BioMed Research International
  • Prevalence of Syphilis among Pregnant Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2019]

Switzerland

• Frontiers in Public Health
  • Congenital syphilis in Switzerland: a marker of inequality? A mini-review [2023]

Tanzania

• PLoS ONE
  • Epidemiology of syphilis infections among pregnant women in Tanzania: Analysis of the 2020 national representative sentinel surveillance [2023]

Trinidad and Tobago

• Ministry of Health Trinidad and Tobago
  • Syphilis in pregnancy and the neonate [2020]

United Kingdom

• BMJ Open
  • Repeat screening for syphilis in pregnancy as an alternative screening strategy in the UK: a cost-effectiveness analysis [2020]

• British Association for Sexual Health and HIV
  • British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) UK guidelines for the management of syphilis in pregnancy and children 2024 [2024]

• HSC Public Health Agency
  • Guidance on syphilis infection in pregnancy for healthcare professionals 2023 [2023]
  • Syphilis infection in pregnancy (professional guidance 2018) [2018]

• NHS England
  • IDPS: ISOSS Syphilis outcome report 2023 [2024]
  • Syphilis: managing infection in pregnancy
  • Infectious diseases in pregnancy screening: ISOSS syphilis report 2022
  • Infectious diseases in pregnancy screening: ISOSS congenital syphilis report 2015 to 2020

• Right Decisions
  • Congenital syphilis : management of babies born to mothers with syphilis infection

• UK National Screening Committee
  • Syphilis

United States

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • Screening for Syphilis Infection in Pregnant Women: A Reaffirmation Evidence Update for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [2018]

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Screening for Syphilis in Pregnancy [2024]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Vital Signs: Missed Opportunities for Preventing Congenital Syphilis — United States, 2022 [2023]
  • Missed Opportunities for Prevention of Congenital Syphilis — United States, 2018 [2020]
  • Health Alert Template for Congenital Syphilis

• Maternal and Child Health Journal
  • State Requirements for Prenatal Syphilis Screening in the United States, 2016 [2018]

• Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • National Trends and Reported Risk Factors Among Pregnant Women With Syphilis in the United States, 2012–2016 [2019]

• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
  • Provider Adherence to Syphilis Testing Guidelines Among Stillbirth Cases [2020]
  • Provider Adherence to Syphilis Testing Recommendations for Women Delivering a Stillbirth [2017]

• StatPearls
  • Congenital and Maternal Syphilis

• U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
  • Syphilis Infection During Pregnancy: Screening [2025]

WHO

• World Health Organization
  • Updated recommendations for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Treponema pallidum, and new recommendations on syphilis testing and partner services: Web annex C: Evidence-to-decision framework and systematic review to update the WHO treatment recommendations for Treponema pallidum (syphilis) in pregnant women [2024]
  • WHO guideline on syphilis screening and treatment for pregnant women [2017]
  • Global burden of maternal and congenital syphilis in 2008 and 2012: a health systems modelling study [2016]
  • Global Estimates of Syphilis in Pregnancy and Associated Adverse Outcomes: Analysis of Multinational Antenatal Surveillance Data [2013]
  • Investment case for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of syphilis [2012]
  • Methods for surveillance and monitoring of congenital syphilis elimination within existing systems [2011]
  • The global elimination of congenital syphilis: rationale and strategy for action [2007]
  • WHO Congenital Syphilis Estimation Tool
  • Mother-to-child transmission of syphilis
  • Data on syphilis
  • Congenital syphilis

WHO South-East Asia Region

• WHO South-East Asia Region
  • Regional strategy for the elimination of congenital syphilis [2009]

Zambia

• PLoS ONE
  • Scaling Down to Scale Up: A Health Economic Analysis of Integrating Point-of-Care Syphilis Testing into Antenatal Care in Zambia during Pilot and National Rollout Implementation [2015]
  • Introduction of Syphilis Point-of-Care Tests, from Pilot Study to National Programme Implementation in Zambia: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Workers’ Perspectives on Testing, Training and Quality Assurance [2015]
  • Finding a Needle in the Haystack: The Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment during Pregnancy to Prevent Congenital Syphilis in Kalomo District of Zambia [2014]

{Related topics}

• Topic
  • Syphilis
  • Neonatal infections
  • Infections in pregnancy