JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Doctors say the rise in congenital syphilis cases in newborns has become a crisis in Mississippi.

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) has new rules and regulations that should be followed regarding expecting mothers effective immediately.

University of Mississippi Medical Center Dean of Population Health Dr. Thomas Dobbs recently said Mississippi didn’t require syphilis testing if a mother was expecting.

But now, the MSDH requires all Mississippi medical practitioners and physicians providing prenatal care to expecting women to test them during the first and third trimester.

“Also, mandatory reporting. If a doctor or clinic identifies that there’s a woman who’s been diagnosed with syphilis, they need to call a health line hotline immediately, so that resources can be mobilized to try and help that mom,” said Dobbs.

The MSDH also requires that syphilis tests be done at the time of delivery if a test wasn’t reported during the current pregnancy or if the patient hasn’t received prenatal care.

According to the MSDH, all Mississippi physicians and medical practitioners providing prenatal care to pregnant people are required to:

• Perform syphilis testing for all pregnant people in their first trimester (or at the initial
  visit for prenatal care) and again in the third trimester (28-32 weeks).
• Perform syphilis testing for all pregnant people at the time of delivery if no
  documentation of syphilis testing during the current pregnancy is available or the
  patient has received no prior prenatal care in the current pregnancy.
• Ensure appropriate treatment for syphilis infections during pregnancy, per the most
  current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) treatment guidelines (2021
  STI Treatment Guidelines – Syphilis: Updated diagnostic, treatment, and screening
  recommendations for STIs (July 22, 2021)).
• Ensure appropriate reporting of syphilis infection in pregnancy to MSD

With the new rules in place, Dobbs believes the numbers will begin to decrease.

“It’ll take a little while. It might take months or years to start to see this turn around with the concerted effort, with all of us working together, doctors, public health, hospitals, Medicaid, insurance. I think within a year, we can really turn this thing around,” said Dobbs.

Dobbs says that this outbreak is a tragic situation due to this disease being entirely preventable and very easy to treat.

The MSDH has now added syphilis infection to the list of reportable diseases and conditions as a Class 1B disease.