WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is directing $4 million toward rapid syphilis testing in emergency departments and other nontraditional healthcare settings beginning this month, targeting persistent gaps in prenatal screening as congenital infections remain sharply elevated nationwide.
Nearly 4,000 congenital syphilis cases were reported in 2024, according to HHS, marking the 12th consecutive annual increase and a nearly 700% rise over the past decade.
The department said congenital syphilis contributed to 279 stillbirths and infant deaths in 2023. An estimated 83% of cases that year could have been prevented through timely testing and treatment.
More than 40% of pregnant women who delivered babies with congenital syphilis in 2023 did not receive testing early enough to complete adequate treatment before delivery, HHS reported.
The initiative is intended to move testing beyond conventional clinical settings, particularly for women who may not regularly receive traditional healthcare. Point-of-care tests can produce rapid results, allowing treatment to begin without waiting for laboratory processing.
“Congenital syphilis is preventable, yet too many mothers and babies are still suffering its devastating consequences,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated. “HHS is putting rapid tests where women receive care so we can detect infections earlier, treat them faster, and protect more babies.”
About $3.25 million will go to jurisdictions participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strengthening STD Prevention and Control for Health Departments cooperative agreement. HHS selected recipients in areas experiencing high burdens of syphilis and congenital syphilis.
Those supplemental awards will support expanded point-of-care testing and connections to treatment from August 2026 through February 2027.
The remainder of the $4 million will support national partners providing technical assistance and implementation support.
HHS identified emergency departments, maternal and child health programs, correctional intake facilities and substance-use treatment programs among the settings where expanded screening could identify infections that otherwise might be missed.
Syphilis during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death and long-term medical complications. The federal initiative is designed to increase opportunities for diagnosis and treatment before those outcomes occur.
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