Syphilis

Treatment to prevent congenital syphilis is considered adequate if it is initiated 30 days before delivery. This regimen prevents congenital syphilis.

Additionally, the pregnant woman must receive treatment based on the staging of the case:

Primary, secondary, and early latent syphilis:

■ 1 dose of benzathine penicillin (2,400,000 IU IM).

Syphilis of unknown duration, late latent, and tertiary syphilis:

■ 3 doses of benzathine penicillin (2,400,000 IU IM), with one-week intervals between doses.

Syphilis during pregnancy can cause serious complications such as miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight.

If syphilis is not properly treated, it can lead to severe consequences for the baby, including brain damage, organ problems, or stillbirth.

Diagnostic tests for syphilis are classified into treponemal tests (TT) and non-treponemal tests (NTT).

NTT include the VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory), USR (VDRL modified for unheated serum), and RPR (Rapid Plasma Reagin, involving the addition of carbon particles and macroscopic reading). These tests measure antibodies produced in response to the infection.

Syphilis can be prevented through the correct and consistent use of condoms, which significantly reduces the risk of infection. Key to this is the availability of condoms within prenatal care services and their use promotion.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacterium (*Treponema pallidum*) that spreads through contact with sores during unprotected sex.

Symptoms can include painless sores, rashes, and flu-like symptoms.