377: Lingering Pandemic Impacts, Screening for Syphilis

ROBERT JOHNSON:

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, March 15th, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

SCOTT HARRIS:

We've had more deaths in Alabama, then births for two straight years, and actually what's likely to be three straight years once the numbers are final.

JOHNSON:

Alabama state health officer Dr. Scott Harris on the sobering and a lingering reality of the pandemic.

HARRIS:

I think about half the states are in a similar situation. But it's the first time in the history of our state, you know, going back to our data from the 19th century, that we've actually had more deaths in a given year than births, so that it's pretty striking.

JOHNSON:

Harris says a state commission was convened to understand Alabama's response to COVID-19. As is often the case, communication is on the list of areas needing improvement.

HARRIS:

You know, when we were most successful, is when we worked on a on a real hyper local level with local officials and people known in the community who could carry our message, who were you know, trusted messengers and those community. And so, those people were able to reach their own, you know, family and friends and colleagues and church members and co-workers in a way that we just never could, as some, you know, state agency on the television set, you know, 100 miles away.

JOHNSON:

Harris and his colleagues also are trying to map a plan to reduce the state's health debt left by the virus.

HARRIS:

We have this debt and that, you know, we had a couple of years of just disruption of normal medical care. So, women weren't getting their mammograms and pap smears routinely. A lot of kids didn't get not just COVID vaccine, but any of their vaccines updated because, you know, they didn't have to have a certificate to go to school or their pediatrician just wasn't doing well baby checks and so on.

JOHNSON:

Dr. Harris is quoted in an AOL.com report about Alabama's high death rate. You can read it using the link in the show notes.

More babies are being born with congenital syphilis in the US. The alarming trend is calling attention to the lack of care for pregnant people and their newborns. This is USA Today's Nada Hassanein.

NADA HASSANEIN:

You know several states actually don't require syphilis screening during pregnancy, and only 19 states require it during the third trimester, than five of those only require it for women who are high risk.

JOHNSON:

In a February story for the newspaper, Hassanein writes about the nation's 1300 cases in 2018, saying roughly 40% of women suffering from the disease were Black, while another 21% were Hispanic.

HASSANEIN:

You know, the region's most affected have large populations of Black Hispanic and Indigenous women, and we can't forget that Black and Indigenous women's babies have disproportionately high infant mortality rates and congenital syphilis, you know as can be deadly. Secondly, syphilis, in general, is very stigmatized and has roots in medical injustice toward Black people.

JOHNSON:

Hassanein reports the problem is a lack of access to care and screenings.

HASSANEIN:

So simply honing in on testing during all stages of pregnancy is what experts have been telling me, as well as delivery. So not just limiting testing to the first trimester, which is when it's typically done, but also during delivery during the third trimester, and not just limiting, you know, testing during later stages for women who are high risk. And medical professionals should also remember that babies can be born, you know, asymptomatic.

JOHNSON:

You can read Hassanein story using the link in the show notes.

Also, today, ASTHO has a webinar coming up at the end of the month to help attendees learn how to leverage the community perinatal workforce as a strategy to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. ASTHO past president Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott and others will lead the discussion on Thursday, March 30. You can sign up using the link in the show notes. 

Finally this morning, ASTHO has job openings. This week, the organization is hiring an Assistant Director of Social Media, a Specialist in Communications and a Specialist in Promotions. Get more information using the link in the show notes. 

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.