North Carolina joins multistate partnership to address rising syphilis rates
A pharmacist holds a bottle of the antibiotic doxycycline hyclate, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended for use to prevent infections from sexually transmitted diseases. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
North Carolina is teaming up with other southeastern states to combat what officials call a congenital syphilis crisis.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is joining a collaborative effort to bring syphilis case counts down. The goal is to align with other state’s public health and Medicaid programs to codify best practice recommendations.
Dr. Victoria Mobley, an NCDHHS medical director, released a statement noting that North Carolina’s congenital syphilis numbers “are the highest they have been in almost 20 years.”
The department is reaching out to local providers as part of a campaign to increase screenings of pregnant women and boost access to rapid tests for syphilis and HIV. A media campaign will also help draw attention to the importance of testing for all sexually active individuals.
Officials say a multistate collaboration will help define screening standards and how best to implement them. They also hope to see a decrease in health disparities as Medicaid becomes more of a pivotal player in addressing the issue.
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