A New York infant who lives outside the city has died from a presumed syphilis infection in the third such case this year, prompting health officials to call for more education and testing.
The state Health Department said it would not release any more specifics about where the infant lives, citing privacy concerns for patients and families.
“No baby should die from syphilis in New York State or anywhere in this country; it is completely preventable,” state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement. “Detecting syphilis early in pregnancy with a simple blood test is important to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment, so you have a healthy baby.”
Officials said this is part of a growing trend of syphilis cases in New York and around the United States in recent years.
Syphilis infection is transmitted through sexual contact. With congenital syphilis, a pregnant woman can pass the infection to her fetus, bringing the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, birth defects or death. When detected in the early stages, it can often be successfully treated with antibiotics.
In New York, guidelines mandate that providers test pregnant patients at least three times.
Statewide, there were 68 diagnoses of congenital syphilis reported in 2023, a 33% increase compared with 2022. Health officials said preliminary data from 2024 shows that number continued to increase but the annual statewide numbers were not yet available.
In the counties outside the city, 21 congenital syphilis cases have been reported so far in 2025. In 2024 there were 36 cases, including five stillbirths and one infant death presumed to have been linked to syphilis, according to the state. By comparison, there were a total of eight infant deaths assumed to be caused by congenital syphilis in the counties outside the city between 2019 and 2023.
Some reasons for the increase include a lack of testing and follow-up treatment after a diagnosis of syphilis, according to Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
Some women may not be able to get off work multiple days for testing and treatment. In addition, she said, there is a shortage of penicillin that pregnant women can take for syphilis.
“Having a national shortage of a medicine that’s the only one that we can use during pregnancy is very scary for all of us,” Nachman said.
A review of congenital syphilis cases that occurred in 2024 in counties outside of New York City showed people who were infected also had other health conditions, including substance use and hepatitis C — a trend that has continued this year, state health officials said.
Overall cases of syphilis have also increased in New York.
Newsday previously reported the number of Long Islanders newly diagnosed with early syphilis more than quadrupled between 2011 and 2021, from 118 to 508, according to state data.
There were 731 diagnoses of early syphilis on Long Island in 2022 and the rate increased from 19 per 100,000 in 2021 to 27.2 per 100,000 in 2022. In 2023, the rate dropped to 19.4 with 513 cases.
New York City congenital syphilis deaths for 2024 and 2025 were not available on Tuesday. But data from previous years shows there were 35 cases in 2023, including a non-specified number of stillborn cases and 21 cases in 2022 with an unknown number of stillborn cases as well as infants that died after birth.
Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.