Epidemiological analysis of congenital syphilis in the state of Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: congenital syphilis is a systemic infectious disease of chronic evolution caused by the Treponema pallidum bacterium dissemination to the fetus through the placenta of infected pregnant women untreated or treated improperly, occurring at any stage of pregnancy or clinical stage of the disease. Objective: epidemiological analysis of congenital syphilis in the State of Ceará from 2007 to 2010. Methods: documentary study conducted in March, 2013, through the database available at the Center for Information and Analysis in Health which keep the information about the National System of Notifiable Diseases records. There were 1,577 notifications of congenital syphilis cases. Results: the following results were observed: 71.78% (n = 1,132) of women who had their children diagnosed with congenital syphilis attented to prenatal consultation; 46.16% (n = 728) had a diagnosis of syphilis identified only during delivery/curettage; about 69.5% (n = 1,096) of pregnant women partners did not undergo any treatment for congenital syphilis. It was noted that over 90% of children were diagnosed with congenital syphilis until the sixth day of birth, and the most prevalent final classification was recent syphilis with 83.83% (n = 1,322) of cases. The most common clinical evolution for children had a favorable outcome, as more than 75% of them underwent treatment and remained alive during the studied period. Conclusion: the thorough analysis of congenital syphilis cases and the factors involved in the process are of fundamental importance to support the actions to prevent and control the disease.