Houston, Harris County experiencing syphilis outbreak, 128% increase in women, says HHD

HOUSTON - Houston and Harris County are experiencing a syphilis outbreak after Houston Health Department (HHD) reports a 128% increase in cases among women and a nine-fold rise in congenital syphilis.

Due to this, the department says they will begin rapid outreach response that includes increasing screening opportunities, targeting hotspots, and mobilizing community partners to curb new infections.

According to HHD, their statistics show infections saw a 57% increase from 1,845 in 2019 to 2,905 in 2022.

In 2022 cases among women totaled 674, more than double the 295 cases in 2019. Congenital syphilis soared from 16 cases in 2016 to 151 cases in 2021, the latest year for which statistics are available.

"It is crucial for pregnant women to seek prenatal care and syphilis testing to protect themselves from an infection that could result in the deaths of their babies," said Marlene McNeese Ward, deputy assistant director in the department’s Bureau of HIV/STI and Viral Hepatitis Prevention. "A pregnant woman needs to get tested for syphilis three times during her pregnancy."

Women are recommended testing at their first prenatal visit, during their third trimester, and at delivery, says HHD. If syphilis goes untreated during pregnancy it can result in a stillbirth or a baby's death soon after birth.

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HHD will be waiving all clinical fees for sexually transmitted infections (STI) at their health centers, in response to the outbreak. In addition, they will expand their HIV/STD mobile clinic for more community screening sites and set up in areas considered hotspots, selected from disease monitoring and case management data.

The department is also working with medical providers and collaborating with community-based partners to increase awareness of the outbreak and enhance testing and treatment.

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There is an increased risk of contracting HIV when you have syphilis due to the painless sore that develops at the site of sexual contact during the disease’s primary stage. HHD says new syphilis infections are known as primary, secondary and early latent syphilis.

Syphilis can easily be treated with antibiotics but without adequate treatment, the infection progresses to the secondary stage when one or more areas of the skin break into a rash – usually non-itchy and most typically on the palms and soles.

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According to HHD, other second-stage symptoms can include fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue.

In most cases, the infection goes undetected because the signs and symptoms are misinterpreted or simply unnoticed. If untreated, Treponema Pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, remains in the body and begins to damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints.

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The department reminds healthcare providers to immediately report syphilis infections so it can expedite testing and treatment to the sexual contact of people with the disease. Physicians seeking medical information about people with a history of syphilis infection can call the department at 855-264-8463.

The department recommends syphilis testing to:

Pregnant women at their initial prenatal visit, third trimester and delivery (required by state law),
People who have had unprotected sex
Men with anonymous sex partners
People with multiple sex partners
People recently diagnosed with any other sexually transmitted disease such as gonorrhea, Chlamydia or HIV.

See the list below for free and low-cost STD STI testing clinics in the Houston area: