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Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
3 infants died in New York of congenital syphilis. Here's what you need to know
The New York State Department of Health (NYDOH) is warning about the risks of congenital syphilis after three infant deaths related to the disease have been reported in the state so far this year. The deaths occurred outside of New York City and are part of "a concerning rise" in congenital syphilis cases in the state and across the nation, according to the NYDOH. Cases of congenital syphilis have been rising nationwide in recent years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2023, there were more than 3,800 cases reported, a 106% increase from 2019 and the highest annual case count on record since 1994. MORE: Newborn syphilis cases at 'dire' levels as analysis shows tenfold increase in last decade: CDC Public health experts told ABC News that congenital syphilis is largely preventable and, when left untreated, it can be dangerous, or even deadly. "What's so devastating is that [congenital syphilis] is very preventable," Dr. Elizabeth Partridge, associate clinical professor of pediatric infectious disease at UC Davis Children's Hospital, told ABC News. "It's an epidemic of congenital syphilis and infections in women of childbearing age." What is congenital syphilis? Syphilis is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). It starts as a painless sore where the infection entered the body. This infection is easily treated with an antibiotic when caught early. If left untreated, it often progresses, over weeks or months, to a worsening rash that may be accompanied by symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, headache and fatigue, according to the CDC. Symptoms can resolve on their own over time but without treatment, syphilis enters a "latent stage," or asymptomatic stage, that can last for years and may progress further to a "tertiary stage" that can impact multiple organs in the body. Congenital syphilis occurs when a pregnant person with untreated syphilis passes the infection to their baby either during pregnancy or at birth. It can be treated with antibiotics and it's best to treat as soon as possible to prevent more severe complications of the disease. The CDC recommends that all pregnant people get tested for syphilis at their first health care visit after learning they are pregnant. Some places with higher rates of this infection may recommend additional screening throughout pregnancy and at birth. Partridge said women of childbearing age who have barriers to prenatal care are at greater risk because they may miss out on syphilis screening. "I see a lot of times that moms don't get those full screenings done, they don't have access to that kind of prenatal care. And that, to me, is just tragic because if moms can get screened, then they can get treated," Partridge said. Why can it be so dangerous? Congenital syphilis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight, prematurity or infant death soon after birth, according to the CDC. Babies born with this disease can have deformed bones, low blood counts, jaundice and organ dysfunction, including problems with the brain and nervous system or enlarged liver and spleen. Partridge says common symptoms of congenital syphilis are known but many aren't obvious at birth. MORE: Mississippi sees 10-fold increase in babies born with syphilis since 2016: Report "I think up to 70% of babies who may meet the case definition for congenital syphilis are actually asymptomatic, which makes diagnosing it quite challenging," Partridge said. Without treatment, babies who are asymptomatic at birth can begin to show signs of the disease weeks, months or years later. "If they're undetected, if the infants are left untreated, they go on to develop what we call later sequelae, and that's when you see deafness, blindness, developmental delay, the quite devastating illness," Partridge said. Why is congenital syphilis on the rise? Dr. James McDonald, commissioner of the NYDOH, told ABC News that the three newborn deaths from syphilis are concerning because it's uncommon to see infant deaths from the condition. McDonald said that New York State has seen 21 cases of congenital syphilis so far this year, compared to 36 cases all of last year. "Keep in mind, these may sound like big numbers, but for upstate New York, they are big numbers," he said. "What concerns me, though, is it should be zero." Kristin Wall, an associate professor of epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, told ABC News the U.S. has seen a steady rise in congenital syphilis cases over the last 10 years. This is despite decreases in cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea, according to CDC data. She said that there are racial/ethnic disparities when it comes to the populations experiencing the highest rates of congenital syphilis. "So the highest rates we're seeing are in Native Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Hispanic populations and Black populations," Wall said. "And I think it's really important to think about access to care barriers as one of the big reasons that we're seeing these increasing rates in certain populations." Barriers can include lack of insurance or lack of transportation as well as mistrust of the medical system due to past prejudices, according to Wall. How to drive down rates of congenital syphilis Wall said half of cases are occurring among patients who are receiving prenatal care, but are missing timely and appropriate treatment, and the other half are occurring in people who are not engaged in care at all. For those who are receiving prenatal care, Wall said there is a push to implement point-of-care testing, meaning testing outside of a traditional clinical laboratory, often at the patient's bedside. Delays in waiting for laboratory test results to come back and then trying to recontact the patient can lead to delays in delivering a diagnosis or administering care, Wall said. MORE: FDA authorizes 1st over-the-counter, at-home test for syphilis "A very exciting development to address that is the point of care syphilis testing, where you have a patient right in front of you, you're able to administer that test, get test results in 20, 30 minutes, and administer directly observed treatment right there, without sending, you know, your patient away," she said. For the patients who are not receiving care, Wall said it's important to work with community partners to enter underserved communities and spread awareness, as well as make sure men and women are getting tested to prevent cases from occurring in the first place. McDonald said that as part of an effort to eliminate syphilis from pregnancy, New York State requires three syphilis screenings for pregnant people. "When someone's pregnant, they're supposed to be checked for syphilis three times, one when they have their first visit, the second time around the third trimester, and then the third time is where they give birth," he said. "Part of our message to health care providers is: ensure people are being screened appropriately." He also encouraged people to practice safe sex to prevent the spread of STIs, including the use of condoms. Jade A. Cobern, MD, MPH, is board-certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine, and is a medical fellow of the ABC News Medical Unit. 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Washington Post
3 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Fitness tests, constipation and confidence: The week in Well+Being
You're reading our weekly Well+Being newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Thursday. Everyone agrees that lots of running, jumping and playing is important for kids. But how to actually get them to do that in gym class — and enjoy it? — is still up for discussion. A staple of many of our childhoods, the presidential fitness test, might be making a comeback. As part of the test, kids were asked to do 40 push-ups, 10 pull-ups and a 6½-minute mile. (Up until the 2012-2013 school year, when it was replaced with another program.) This week, we asked people, including fitness professionals, how they felt about the test. (Check out our story to get the details.) As someone who learned to love exercising only after graduating (let's just say I'm a bigger fan of running or Pilates than dodgeball), I'm hoping that we can find a way to make 'I hate gym class' a thing of the past. Guest columnist Tracy Moore shared her health journey in a personal essay: In 2022, I gained 40 pounds in one year and was tired all the time. Before these changes, at 47, I biked and walked everywhere in my Los Angeles neighborhood. I wrote articles frequently. And I raised my daughter with ease. When I told my doctor about my health issues, she sighed, reeled off obesity risks and admonished, 'Lose weight. For your daughter.' I also met with several other doctors, most of whom blamed stress, weight gain or age for my poor health. It took three years, thousands of dollars and two inches of height for me to get the right diagnosis. Read more here about Tracy's road to the right diagnosis and treatment. Guest columnist Bob Brody wrote about his experience playing sports as an older athlete: Last year, at age 72, after a gap of almost 40 years, I resumed taking tennis lessons. I figured that if I am going to be the next Roger Federer, what better time to start than right now? Many older Americans are playing sports — in one Ipsos survey, the number of Americans ages 60 and over who played a sport was 43 percent in 2025. The number of athletes who compete in the National Senior Games — a biennial event in which participants ages 50 and above compete in more than 25 sports — more than quadrupled from 2,500 in 1987 to 11,681 in 2023. The number of Americans, 55 and older, who played tennis at least one time was 4.3 million in 2024, according to the U.S. Tennis Association. I picked up tennis again because I missed the high I got from it and knew I could still get better at it. As it happens, my activity may help me live longer. One study found that playing tennis was associated with a 9.7-year increase in lifespan compared with those who remain sedentary. Also, badminton was linked to 6.2 years, soccer 4.7, cycling 3.7 and swimming to 3.4 additional years. To find out more about how playing sports can be beneficial as you age, read Bob's story here. Our Ask a Doctor columnist is Trisha S. Pasricha, a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. I have to travel for work sometimes and may be gone for a week or more. I end up not having a bowel movement the entire time I'm gone. By the end, I'm bloated and miserable. Any suggestions? Here's a fact: We all poop weirdly on vacation. That goes for any kind of travel, whether for work or pleasure. Our bowel movements love a routine. We're wired to optimally poop at certain times: within the first one or two hours upon waking, soon after eating meals, after a cup of coffee and after exercise. These classic triggers tell our colon to start contracting — propelling our poop forward and helping us feel the 'urgency' to go. Because of all this, traveler's constipation is quite common. I strongly recommend you start taking something that will help at the start of the trip — even a day or two before leaving. It's always easier to get ahead of a problem than to chase after it when it becomes a crisis. Read Trisha's full response here. And use our Ask a Doctor form to submit a question, and we may answer it in a future column. Here are a few things that brought us joy this week. Let's keep the conversation going. We want to hear from you! Email us at wellbeing@ Want to know more about 'joy' snacks? Reporter and former neuroscientist Richard Sima explains what they are and how they can make you feel happier. You can also read his advice as a comic.
Medscape
32 minutes ago
- Medscape
Weight Loss Before Military Training May Cut Injury Risk
TOPLINE: Army recruits who lost excess weight to enter military training experienced fewer musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs), particularly in the lower extremities, during basic combat training than those who did not lose weight to join the service. METHODOLOGY: The nation's obesity epidemic means that fewer individuals meet the US Army's weight and body-fat standards for entering basic combat training. Only 29% of 17- to 24-year-olds in the country would have qualified to join the military in 2018, with overweight and obesity among the leading disqualifying factors. Researchers analyzed data from 3168 Army trainees (mean age, 20.96 years; 62.34% men; mean maximum-ever BMI, 26.71) to examine the association between weight loss before enlistment and rates of MSKI during basic combat training. Trainees completed a baseline questionnaire that asked whether the person lost weight to enter the Army and included follow-up questions about the amount of weight lost, duration of weight loss, methods used, and prior physical activity. MSKIs were classified as any injury to the musculoskeletal system and further categorized by body region (lower extremities, upper extremities, spine/back, and other areas, including the torso and head/neck). Researchers identified MSKIs from medical records collected throughout basic combat training and for up to 6 weeks afterward to capture injuries that occurred during training but were documented only after its completion. TAKEAWAY: Overall, 829 trainees (26.16%) reported losing weight to enter the Army, and they tended to have higher mean maximum-ever BMI, body-fat percentage, and lean mass compared with those who did not lose weight to join the service. The mean weight loss was 9.06 kg at a rate of 1.27 kg/wk among the 723 trainees with complete data. The most commonly reported weight-loss methods were exercising more (83.72%), changing diet (61.04%), skipping meals (39.32%), and sweating using a sauna or rubber suit (25.57%). Trainees who lost weight to join the service had a lower risk of any MSKI (hazard ratio [HR], 0.86) and lower extremity MSKIs (HR, 0.84) during training than those who did not lose weight to enter the Army. No difference was found between the two groups in the risk of upper extremity, spine/back, or other MSKIs. Among trainees who lost weight to join the Army, the amount of time it took to lose weight was not associated with the risk for any MSKI or region-specific MSKIs. IN PRACTICE: "The findings highlight that losing excess weight before entering military training may reduce MSKI risk for incoming recruits, enforcing the benefits of healthy weight loss programs," the authors wrote. SOURCE: The study, led by Vy T. Nguyen, MS, DSc, Military Performance Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts, was published online in Obesity. LIMITATIONS: The study did not assess whether the association between weight loss and the rate of MSKIs persisted over long-term military service. How the two most frequently reported weight loss methods — increased exercise and dietary changes — may have influenced the observed association remains unclear. Medical records may not have captured all MSKIs if trainees did not seek medical care due to concerns about graduating on time or being placed on limited duty. DISCLOSURES: The study was supported by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command's Military Operational Medicine Program. Two authors received support from the funder. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
