Syphilis

A bill that would improve health care access for Missouri women almost died in the House after some lawmakers conflated birth control legislation with abortion medication.

St. Louis has the highest rates of syphilis infection in the state. Local health officials want to slow the spread in parts of the city where resources are scarce.

In the majority of Missouri’s rising cases of congenital syphilis, mothers had little to no prenatal care, highlighting a larger issue of maternal health care access. Legislation introduced in the House and Senate aims to address the crisis.

Missouri's large local and statewide increases in syphilis cases are dramatic, but not surprising, experts said. Decreased funding for prevention and the coronavirus pandemic could be contributing to the sexually transmitted infection spreading among demographics.

The St. Louis and St. Louis County health departments are urging people who are pregnant to get tested for syphilis so they do not pass it to their children. Missouri last year reported the highest number of congenital syphilis cases in the state since 1994.

When Karolyn Schrage first heard about the “dominoes gang” in the health clinic she runs in Joplin, Missouri, she assumed it had to do with pizza.Turns…

The rate of syphilis cases in St. Louis County increased 42 percent between 2016 and 2017, the largest increase in at least five years, according to data…

The St. Louis region has long grappled with high rates of sexually transmitted infections, but an uptick in syphilis among women of child-bearing age is…

St. Louis continues to have some of the highest rates of two common sexually transmitted diseases in the country.According to data released on Wednesday…

Last summer, St. Louis Public Radio’s Véronique LaCapra began a conversation about some of the ethical issues involved when people are used as the…