Congenital syphilis

Alternative names:

congenital lues; fetal syphilis

Definition:

Infection with the spirochete Treponema pallidum (syphilis) during the fetal period.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Expectant mothers who have syphilis can transmit the disease through the placenta to the unborn infant. Nearly half of all infants infected with syphilis during gestation die shortly before or after birth.

Infants who survive develop early-stage and late-stage syphilis symptoms. Early-stage symptoms include irritability, failure to thrive, and nonspecific fever. Some infants develop a rash and lesions (sores) on the borders of the mouth, anus, and genitalia (called condyloma lata). Some of these lesions may resemble the wart-like lesions of adult syphilis. A small percentage of infants have a bloody nasal discharge (snuffles) and a saddle nose. Bone lesions are common, especially in the upper arm (humerus).

Later signs appear as tooth abnormalities (Hutchinson teeth), bone changes (saber shins), neurological involvement, blindness, and deafness. Increasing rates of syphilis in the United States have increased the number of infants born with congenital syphilis.