|
|
 |
Complications
PregnancySyphilis can cause miscarriages, premature births, stillbirths, or death of newborn babies. Some infants with congenital syphilis have symptoms at birth, but most develop symptoms later.
Untreated syphilis results in a high-risk pregnancy. There are fewer than 1,000 pregnant women with syphilis in the United States each year. Studies show that for women who get syphilis--but not treatment--during the 4 years before a pregnancy, the mother’s syphilis may lead to infection of the fetus in more than 70 percent of cases. Untreated early syphilis results in death of the fetus in up to 40 percent of those pregnancies. Therefore, if you are pregnant, you should be tested for syphilis.
Untreated babies with congenital syphilis can have deformities, delays in development, or seizures, along with many other problems such as rash, fever, swollen liver and spleen, anemia, and jaundice. Sores on infected babies are infectious. Rarely, the symptoms of syphilis may go unseen in infants and they develop the symptoms of late-stage syphilis, including damage to their bones, teeth, eyes, ears, and brains.
HIV infectionSomeone who is infected with syphilis is two to five times more likely to acquire HIV infection if they are exposed to the HIV virus. Substantial evidence shows an increased likelihood of getting and transmitting HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, in the presence of other STIs, including syphilis.
back to top
|
|
|
|