[ad_1]
By county, pregnant women infected with syphilis were distributed respectively: 21 – from Vilnius, 12 – from Kaunas and Šiauliai, 5 – from Klaipėda and Telšiai, 3 – from Marijampolė, 2 – from Alytus and Utena and 1 – from Tauragė county .
In terms of place of residence, the majority (65.1%) of pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis were urban residents and the rest rural residents. The mean age of infected pregnant women was 28 years. Explaining why pregnant women could become infected with syphilis, four out of ten (41.3%) mentioned a spouse / sexual partner or permanent partner as an alleged source of infection, 12.7%. – a familiar or random person, but the majority (46.0%) did not know what they were infected with. When syphilis is diagnosed, pregnant women are treated.
In Lithuania, as in all European countries, to prevent syphilis transmission from mother to child, all pregnant women with syphilis are tested free of charge. The study is performed during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy.
Syphilis infection is passed from mother to child.
A pregnant woman with syphilis infects the fetus through the placenta from the 12th week of pregnancy. Pregnant women with syphilis, 70–100 percent. gives birth to an infected newborn.
Congenital syphilis is divided into early and late. Early congenital syphilis. Specific clinical signs appear within the first 4 to 5 months after birth. These include severe syphilis, which prevents the newborn from sucking and breathing, fever, a specific skin rash (often on the soles of the feet and palms), swelling of the lips, and radial tears that heal scars (called marks of Parrot), interstitial hepatitis, suspected paralysis, etc. serious diseases
Late syphilis diagnosed in children older than 2 years when the following symptoms appear: saddle-like nose, the so-called Hutchinson’s triad: parenchymal keratitis, dystrophic upper teeth, deafness; skull deformities such as short upper jaw etc. signs. Untreated syphilis infection causes miscarriage, premature birth, or stillbirth in about a third of pregnant women.
Pregnant women with syphilis, 70–100 percent. gives birth to an infected newborn.
In the last five years, there have been four cases of congenital syphilis in Lithuania, according to ULAC, three of which were detected in 2015. and one in 2017. Although there have been no cases of congenital syphilis in Lithuania in recent years, An increase in the incidence of congenital syphilis has been observed in Europe. European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), in 2018 60 cases of congenital syphilis have been confirmed in the EU / EEA countries, most of them in Bulgaria (25).
Photo by 123RF.com/Pregnant woman
The overall incidence of syphilis in Lithuania decreased
According to the ULAC doctors, when evaluating the general trends in the incidence of syphilis, it must be taken into account that the total incidence of syphilis in the Lithuanian population has halved in the last five years (56.7%), while that the incidence of women has decreased almost three times. According to ULAC medical epidemiologists, this indicates that prevention messages for sexually transmitted infections reach the appropriate target groups.
It will be recalled that in 2013 the incidence of syphilis in Lithuania was one of the highest in the EU / EEA, second only to Malta.
Despite the general declining trend in the incidence of syphilis observed in Lithuania in recent years, preventive vigilance is necessary as the incidence of syphilis in Europe is higher than in Lithuania.
The overall incidence of syphilis in the Lithuanian population has halved in the past five years (56.7%), while the incidence rate for women has decreased almost threefold.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that occurs during all types of sex (vaginal, anal, and oral). Syphilis spreads through infected blood. The causative agent of syphilis enters the body through mucous membranes (genitalia, mouth, rectum) or small skin lesions (cracks) during sexual intercourse, when there are syphilis eruptions on the surface or mucous membrane of the skin of an infected person.
To reduce the risk of syphilis infection, it is recommended to avoid accidental sexual intercourse and change of partner, and to use condoms, especially with casual partners.
[ad_2]
