Syphilis in Pregnant Women in Salvador, Brazil: Analysis of Serum Prevalence and Possible Factors for Vertical Transmission

Abstract

The vertical transmission of syphilis is still a great challenge in public health and requires new strategies in epidemiological surveillance. In spite of the control in maternal syphilis, several difficulties exist to diagnose the infection in the laboratory during the pre-natal period. Prevalence of the disease is an important indicator for the pre-natal assistance quality provided by the Brazilian Health System. Current essay identifies the serum prevalence of syphilis in pregnant women and newly-born children in Salvador, Brazil, by treponemic and não-treponemic serological methods, and determines possible socio-economical risk factors associated to possibility in being infected by statistical data analyses provided by a questionnaire. Sero-prevalence reached 4.07% (31 patients in 762 participants), significantly higher than that reported in the latest Epidemiological Bulletins. Socio-economic data failed to provide significant statistical rates but describes risk habits of the pregnant population in Salvador, demanding more health information to control the spread of the e disease.