Background
New resources have been developed to bring awareness and to support people in testing and treatment for syphilis during pregnancy.
Rates of infectious syphilis in BC, including rates of syphilis during pregnancy, have risen significantly in recent years.
If someone has a syphilis infection while they are pregnant, they can pass the infection to their baby. Syphilis in pregnancy can be serious and may lead to stillbirth, neonatal death, or long-term complications related to congenital syphilis.
Congenital syphilis can be prevented by performing syphilis testing (bloodwork) and treatment (penicillin injections) early in pregnancy.
In BC, testing is routinely done as part of standard prenatal bloodwork at the first prenatal visit and at delivery, but anyone can request a syphilis test at anytime from a primary care provider (Doctor, Midwife, or Nurse Practitioner). Current guidelines from the Canadian Paediatric Society recommend that syphilis is treated at least 4 weeks prior to delivery.
About the resources
The University of British Columbia Reproductive Infectious Diseases Team developed a set of resources to share with providers and the public.
These resources were developed to raise awareness of syphilis in pregnancy and congenital syphilis, promote testing and treatment early in pregnancy, and to help people locate services near them for testing and care during pregnancy.
- Supporting a Safe and Healthy Pregnancy Syphilis Resource. Syphilis-Resource-Nov-2024.pdf
- Maternal and Congenital Syphilis Resource List. Linktree – Syphilis Resource List
- Overview of Syphilis in Pregnancy in British Columbia. Brief-Syphilis-Report-British-Columbia-Nov-2024.pdf
The resources were developed in partnership with the BC Association for Aboriginal Friendship Centres, Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program and Ahasiw Creative.
To have printed copies of these resources mailed your clinic or service centre, kindly contact rid.program@ubc.ca
For more information
National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease. (2024 March 8). Congenital Syphilis. Congenital Syphilis Disease Debrief. https://nccid.ca/debrief/congenital-syphilis/ Public Health Agency of Canada. (2023). Infection during pregnancy. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/syphilis/infection-during-pregnancy.html
BC Centre for Disease Control .(2024). British Columbia Syphilis Indicators 2024 Q2. http://www.bccdc.ca/resourcegallery/Documents/Statistics%20and%20Research/Statistics%20and%20Reports/STI/BCCDC_website_syphilis_indicators_2024Q2.pdf
