Maternal and congenital syphilis in haiti

It is with great interest that I read the report onmaternal and congenital syphilis in Haiti in which Lo-motey and colleagues reported on a very high preva-lence of maternal syphilis and concluded that, “Thisprevalence combined with late entry into prenatal carecontributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes and a highestimated rate of congenital syphilis” (1). Indeed, therehave been several efforts to control syphilis in Haiti.Recently, Schackman and colleagues reported on theuse of prenatal screening for syphilis in Haiti and con-cluded that it could be an effective tool for solving theproblem (2). Although the cost effectiveness of prena-tal screening has been demonstrated, the success ofimplementation has not been reached.Regardless, the biggest obstacles to syphilisprevention and control in Haiti may be the country’slimited resources and its very low gross domesticproduct. In a situation as challenging as this, even costeffective measures may sometimes not be applicable.This is a particularly difficult challenge for publichealth in poor, resource-limited countries, and onerarely mentioned by standard textbooks.In addition, taking into account the presentearthquake crisis in Haiti, the problem of maternal andneonatal syphilis can be expected to last a long time.Assistance from external sources is needed, especiallyfrom wealthy, developed countries

Congenital syphilis · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Population · Prenatal care · Syphilis · Global Maternal and Child Health · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Medicine · Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment · Pediatrics

• Maternal and congenital syphilis in rural Haiti

  Open Access•Chaylah J Lomotey, Judy Lewis et al.•Revista Panamericana de Salud…•2009

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