PHOENIX — Health officials recorded five baby deaths from congenital syphilis in the Phoenix area last year.
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health counted 30 babies born with the disease in 2018, the Arizona Republic reports.
The department says the county's rate of the disease has doubled over the last two years and is nearly 60 percent higher than the national average.
Congenital syphilis is when an infected mother passes the disease to her baby during pregnancy.
Rebecca Sunenshine, department medical director, says more men and women are getting the disease and not enough doctors are screening for it during pregnancy, leading to the increase in congenital syphilis.
State law requires medical providers to test pregnant women for syphilis at the first prenatal visit.
