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Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
THE Government is working to ensure that all pregnant women test for syphilis which if untreated accounts for more than 50 percent of still births.
Congenital syphilis occurs through mother-to-child transmission in pregnant women.
Mother-to-child transmission of syphilis can result in a number of serious consequences for the health of new-borns, including stillbirth, neonatal death, low-birth-weight, prematurity, and other congenital deformities.
The national STI prevention and condom coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s AIDS and TB Unit Ms Annah Machiha urged pregnant women to go for antenatal care (ANC) and be screened for syphilis.
“Zimbabwe now has a policy for screening syphilis and HIV for all pregnant women and this is done at the first antenatal booking. All pregnant women who test syphilis positive are treated including their sexual partner,” said Ms Machiha.
“Half of the women who book late or never book for ANC and are infected with syphilis are likely to have still births or babies born with congenital syphilis.”
According to the Ministry reported cases of congenital syphilis are few due to availability of antibiotics for treatment, although there are shortages of some of the medicines.
Ms Machiha said the prevalence of maternal syphilis was 0,7 percent according to the ANC Surveillance of 2017 though current trends show that congenital syphilis is slowly becoming a cause for concern.
“The Ministry is currently strengthening reporting of congenital syphilis in line with the elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV agenda, which the country has committed to. Work has already begun on coming up with structures for capturing accurate data on congenital syphilis in Zimbabwe and we encourage couples to go for ANC,” she added.
The World Health Organisation says congenital syphilis is the second leading cause of preventable stillbirth globally, preceded only by malaria.
“Congenital syphilis is easily preventable and treatable as long as testing and treatment are provided to pregnant women early during antenatal care. The risk of adverse outcomes to the foetus is minimal if a pregnant woman, infected with syphilis, receives testing and adequate treatment with Benzathine penicillin, early in pregnancy, ideally before the second trimester,” says WHO.
—@thamamoe
Online Reporter