Hawesville Fire Department to host blood drive
The event is planned for Wednesday, June 4, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
It will be held at the department at 385 Main Street.
The American Red Cross says every 2 seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood and or platelets.
One donation can help save more than one life.
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3 infants died in New York of congenital syphilis. Here's what you need to know
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"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. 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CBS News
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