This infection is completely preventable in infants if it's caught in time, so why is it on the rise?

This infection is completely preventable in infants if it's caught in time, so why is it on the rise?   Rates of syphilis in babies are rising at an alarming rate. Left untreated, syphilis can lead to stillbirth, or it may damage a baby’s organs and bones or harm vision and hearing. In 2021, more than 200 infants in the US with congenital syphilis died.   The bacterial infection is typically spread by sexual contact, beginning with a painless sore called a chancre. These often arise on the genitals or mouth. The disease spreads from person to person through direct contact with these sores.   Infections can be missed because many of the symptoms are similar to those of other diseases: fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, hair loss and fatigue.   When the infection is passed to a developing baby in the womb, it is known as congenital syphilis.   Timely treatment – at least 30 days before delivery – slashes the risk that an infection will pass from mother to baby by 98%. But increasingly, people are falling through the cracks during pregnancy, not getting tested or treated in time to stop transmission from mother to infant.