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Volume 32, Number 7—July 2026

Dispatch

Trends in Congenital Syphilis Cases by Maternal Country of Birth, Spain, 2016–2024

Victoria HernandoComments to Author , Carmen Montaño, Ana Fernandez, Laura Molina, Guillermo Perez, Luis Viloria, Raquel Morales, Henar Marcos, Evelin Lopez-Corbeto, Paula Silvestre, Santiago Vicente, Olaia Perez-Martinez, Laura Montero, M. Isabel Barranco-Boada, Jesus Castilla, Pello Latasa, Eva Martinez, Ninoska Lopez, Daniel Castrillejo, Ana Roldan, Asuncion Diaz, and STIs Group of National Epidemiological Surveillance Network1
Author affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain (V. Hernando, A. Diaz); CIBER in Infectious Diseases (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid (V. Hernando, A. Diaz); Dirección General de Salud Pública del Gobierno de Aragón, Servicio de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, Zaragoza, Spain (C. Montaño); Dirección General de Salud Pública y Atención a la Salud Mental, Servicio Vigilancia Epidemiológica, Oviedo, Spain (A. Fernandez); Dirección General de Salud Pública, Servicio de Epidemiología, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (L. Molina); Dirección General de Salud Pública, Servicio Canario de Salud, Servicio de Vigilancia y Prevención, Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Spain (G. Perez); Dirección General de Salud Pública Servicio de Vigilancia Epidemiologica, Santander, Spain (L. Viloria); Dirección General Salud Pública, Toledo, Spain (R. Morales); Dirección General Salud Pública, Valladolid, Spain (H. Marcos); Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos sobre las ITS y Sida de Cataluña, Badalona, Spain (E. Lopez-Corbeto); Dirección General de Salud Pública, Servicio de Vigilancia y Control Epidemiológico, Valencia, Spain (P. Silvestre); Servicio Extremeño de Salud, Dirección General de Salud Pública, Mérida, Spain (S. Vicente); Dirección Xeral de Saúde Pública, Servizo de Vixilancia Epidemiolóxica, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (O. Perez-Martinez); Dirección General Salud Publica, Subdirección General de Vigilancia en Salud Pública Programas de Vigilancia de Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual, Madrid (L. Montero); Consejeria de Salud, Murcia, Spain (M.I. Barranco-Boada); Instituto de Salud Pública de Navarra-IdiSNA, CIBERESP, Pamplona, Spain (J. Castilla); Dirección General de Salud Pública, Servicio de Epidemiologia y Vacunación, San Sebastian, Spain (P. Latasa); Dirección General de Salud Pública, Consumo y Cuidados, Logroño, Spain (E. Martinez); Consejería de Sanidad, Servicio de Epidemiologia, Ceuta, Spain (N. Lopez); Dirección General de Salud Pública, Servicio de Vigilancia Epidemiológica, Melilla, Spain (D. Castrillejo); Consejería de Sanidad, Presidencia y Emergencias, Servicio de Vigilancia y Salud Laboral, Sevilla, Spain (A. Roldan)

Main Article

Table 2

Maternal characteristics in study of trends in congenital syphilis cases by maternal country of birth, Spain, 2016–2024*

Characteristic Value
 p value†
Mother born in Spain† Mother born outside Spain
Total no. women
 11 (28.9)
 27 (71.1)
Median age at delivery (IQR), y
 21.5 (19–33)
 25 (22–29)
 0.421
Syphilis screening during pregnancy 0.877
First trimester 3 (27.3) 8 (29.6)
Third trimester 0 2 (7.4)
First and third trimester 2 (18.2) 2 (7.4)
Not documented 2 (18.2) 4 (14.8)
Not performed 1 (9.1) 3 (11.1)
Unknown
 3 (27.3)
 8 (29.6)
Syphilis treatment 0.284
Without treatment 4 (36.4) 11 (40.7)
Appropriate treatment 4 (36.4) 6 (22.2)
Inappropriate treatment 0 4 (14.8)
During labor or delivery 3 (27.3) 2 (7.4)
Not documented 0 3 (11.1)
Unknown
 0
 1 (3.7)
Maternal risk for syphilis 0.318
Yes 6 (54.6) 8 (29.6)
None 1 (9.1) 6 (22.2)
Unknown
 4 (36.4)
 13 (48.2)
Risk factors, women with maternal risk for syphilis‡
Disadvantaged situation 2 (33.3) 8 (100) 0.006
Engagement in sex work 1 (16.7) 1 (12.5) 0.825
Drug use 3 (50.0) 1 (12.5) 0.124
Unspecified factors
 4 (66.7)
 1 (12.5)
 0.036
Maternal HIV coinfection 0.430
Yes 0 0
No 9 (81.8) 23 (85.2)
Not testing 0 2 (7.4)
Unknown 2 (18.2) 2 (7.4)

*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. †χ2 was used to calculate p values. ‡Risk factors are nonexclusive categories.

Main Article

1STIs Study Group team members are listed at the end of this article.

Page created: May 14, 2026
Page updated: June 26, 2026
Page reviewed: June 26, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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