To describe syphilis treatment status and prenatal care among people with syphilis during pregnancy to identify missed opportunities for preventing congenital syphilis.
Six jurisdictions that ...participated in SET-NET (Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Pregnant People and Infants Network) conducted enhanced surveillance among people with syphilis during pregnancy based on case investigations, medical records, and linkage of laboratory data with vital records. Unadjusted risk ratios (RRs) were used to compare demographic and clinical characteristics by syphilis stage (primary, secondary, or early latent vs late latent or unknown) and treatment status during pregnancy (adequate per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021" vs inadequate or not treated) and by prenatal care (timely: at least 30 days before pregnancy outcome; nontimely: less than 30 days before pregnancy outcome; and no prenatal care).
As of September 15, 2023, of 1,476 people with syphilis during pregnancy, 855 (57.9%) were adequately treated and 621 (42.1%) were inadequately treated or not treated. Eighty-two percent of the cohort received timely prenatal care. Although those with nontimely or no prenatal care were more likely to receive inadequate or no treatment (RR 2.50, 95% CI, 2.17-2.88 and RR 2.73, 95% CI, 2.47-3.02, respectively), 32.1% of those with timely prenatal care were inadequately or not treated. Those with reported substance use or a history of homelessness were nearly twice as likely to receive inadequate or no treatment (RR 2.04, 95% CI, 1.82-2.28 and RR 1.83, 95% CI, 1.58-2.13, respectively).
In this surveillance cohort, people without timely prenatal care had the highest risk for syphilis treatment inadequacy; however, almost a third of people who received timely prenatal care were not adequately treated. These findings underscore gaps in syphilis screening and treatment for pregnant people, especially those experiencing substance use and homelessness, and the need for systems-based interventions, such as treatment outside of traditional prenatal care settings.
The Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network conducts longitudinal surveillance of pregnant persons in the United States with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory ...syndrome coronavirus 2 infection during pregnancy. Of 6,551 infected pregnant persons in this analysis, 142 (2.2%) had positive RNA tests >90 days and up to 416 days after infection.
Pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at increased risk for severe illness and might be at risk for preterm birth (1-3). The full impact of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus ...that causes COVID-19, in pregnancy is unknown. Public health jurisdictions report information, including pregnancy status, on confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases to CDC through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.* Through the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET), 16 jurisdictions collected supplementary information on pregnancy and infant outcomes among 5,252 women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection reported during March 29-October 14, 2020. Among 3,912 live births with known gestational age, 12.9% were preterm (<37 weeks), higher than the reported 10.2% among the general U.S. population in 2019 (4). Among 610 infants (21.3%) with reported SARS-CoV-2 test results, perinatal infection was infrequent (2.6%) and occurred primarily among infants whose mother had SARS-CoV-2 infection identified within 1 week of delivery. Because the majority of pregnant women with COVID-19 reported thus far experienced infection in the third trimester, ongoing surveillance is needed to assess effects of infections in early pregnancy, as well the longer-term outcomes of exposed infants. These findings can inform neonatal testing recommendations, clinical practice, and public health action and can be used by health care providers to counsel pregnant women on the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including preterm births. Pregnant women and their household members should follow recommended infection prevention measures, including wearing a mask, social distancing, and frequent handwashing when going out or interacting with others or if there is a person within the household who has had exposure to COVID-19.
.
To describe methods employed to track infants enrolled in the New York State Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry (NYSZPIR) and demonstrate the benefits of population databases to improve the process.
...We used patient medical records and provider outreach, New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS), and New York State Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Information System (NYEHDI-IS) to gather medical information. We used descriptive statistics to summarize variables and the McNemar test to determine statistical significance (
< .05).
We identified 109 live births from NYSZPIR mothers. Provider information was documented for 106 (97.2%) infants in NYSIIS compared with 72 (66.1%) through chart review. Collected results of newborn hearing screening increased from 82 (75.2%) to 106 (97.2%) using NYEHDI-IS. The amount of data obtained was significantly higher (
< .001) when including NYSIIS and NYEHDI-IS compared with using medical records alone.
Public health surveillance systems can be used to track infants using data sources such as NYSIIS and NYEHDI-IS in addition to traditional methods. Using medical records alone is inadequate for locating and tracking infants and may result in high lost to follow-up rates.
To assess the 6-month incidence of laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, postnatal care, hospitalization, and mortality among infants born to ...people with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy by timing of maternal infection.
Using a cohort of liveborn infants from pregnancies with SARS-CoV-2 infections in the year 2020 from 10 United States jurisdictions in the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mother and Babies Network, we describe weighted estimates of infant outcomes from birth through 6 months of age from electronic health and laboratory records.
Of 6601 exposed infants with laboratory information through 6 months of age, 1.0% (95% confidence interval: 0.8-1.1) tested positive, 19.1% (17.5-20.6) tested negative, and 80.0% (78.4-81.6) were not known to be tested for SARS-CoV-2. Among those ≤14 days of age, SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred only with maternal infection ≤14 days before delivery. Of 3967 infants with medical record abstraction, breastmilk feeding initiation was lower when maternal infection occurred ≤14 days before delivery compared with >14 days (77.6% 72.5-82.6 versus 88.3% 84.7-92.0). Six-month all-cause hospitalization was 4.1% (2.0-6.2). All-cause mortality was higher among infants born to people with infection ≤14 days (1.0% 0.4-1.6) than >14 days (0.3% 0.1-0.5) before delivery.
Results are reassuring, with low incidences of most health outcomes examined. Incidence of infant SARS-CoV-2, breastmilk feeding initiation, and all-cause mortality differed by timing of maternal infection. Strategies to prevent infections and support pregnant people with coronavirus disease 2019 may improve infant outcomes.
To characterize neurodevelopmental abnormalities in children up to 36 months of age with congenital Zika virus exposure.
From the U.S. Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry, a national surveillance ...system to monitor pregnancies with laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection, pregnancy outcomes and presence of Zika associated birth defects (ZBD) were reported among infants with available information. Neurologic sequelae and developmental delay were reported among children with ≥1 follow-up exam after 14 days of age or with ≥1 visit with development reported, respectively.
Among 2248 infants, 10.1% were born preterm, and 10.5% were small-for-gestational age. Overall, 122 (5.4%) had any ZBD; 91.8% of infants had brain abnormalities or microcephaly, 23.0% had eye abnormalities, and 14.8% had both. Of 1881 children ≥1 follow-up exam reported, neurologic sequelae were more common among children with ZBD (44.6%) vs. without ZBD (1.5%). Of children with ≥1 visit with development reported, 46.8% (51/109) of children with ZBD and 7.4% (129/1739) of children without ZBD had confirmed or possible developmental delay.
Understanding the prevalence of developmental delays and healthcare needs of children with congenital Zika virus exposure can inform health systems and planning to ensure services are available for affected families.
We characterize pregnancy and infant outcomes and describe neurodevelopmental abnormalities up to 36 months of age by presence of Zika associated birth defects (ZBD). Neurologic sequelae and developmental delays were common among children with ZBD. Children with ZBD had increased frequency of neurologic sequelae and developmental delay compared to children without ZBD. Longitudinal follow-up of infants with Zika virus exposure in utero is important to characterize neurodevelopmental delay not apparent in early infancy, but logistically challenging in surveillance models.
We examined the relationship between trimester of SARS-CoV-2 infection, illness severity, and risk for preterm birth.
We analyzed data for 6336 pregnant persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020 in ...the United States. Risk ratios for preterm birth were calculated for illness severity, trimester of infection, and illness severity stratified by trimester of infection adjusted for age, selected underlying medical conditions, and pregnancy complications.
Pregnant persons with critical COVID-19 or asymptomatic infection, compared to mild COVID-19, in the second or third trimester were at increased risk of preterm birth. Pregnant persons with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 did not show increased risk of preterm birth in any trimester.
Critical COVID-19 in the second or third trimester was associated with increased risk of preterm birth. This finding can be used to guide prevention strategies, including vaccination, and inform clinical practices for pregnant persons.
Objectives
We describe clinical characteristics, pregnancy, and infant outcomes in pregnant people with laboratory‐confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection by trimester of infection.
Study Design
We analyzed ...data from the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network and included people with infection in 2020, with known timing of infection and pregnancy outcome. Outcomes are described by trimester of infection. Pregnancy outcomes included live birth and pregnancy loss (<20 weeks and ≥20 weeks gestation). Infant outcomes included preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation), small for gestational age, birth defects, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) were calculated for pregnancy and selected infant outcomes by trimester of infection, controlling for demographics.
Results
Of 35,200 people included in this analysis, 50.8% of pregnant people had infection in the third trimester, 30.8% in the second, and 18.3% in the first. Third trimester infection was associated with a higher frequency of preterm birth compared to first or second trimester infection combined (17.8% vs. 11.8%; aPR 1.44 95% CI: 1.35–1.54). Prevalence of birth defects was 553.4/10,000 live births, with no difference by trimester of infection.
Conclusions
There were no signals for increased birth defects among infants in this population relative to national baseline estimates, regardless of timing of infection. However, the prevalence of preterm birth in people with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in pregnancy in our analysis was higher relative to national baseline data (10.0–10.2%), particularly among people with third trimester infection. Consequences of COVID‐19 during pregnancy support recommended COVID‐19 prevention strategies, including vaccination.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects of the brain and eyes, including intracranial calcifications, cerebral or cortical atrophy, chorioretinal abnormalities, and ...optic nerve abnormalities (1,2). The frequency of these Zika-associated brain and eye defects, based on data from the U.S. Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry (USZPIR), has been previously reported in aggregate (3,4). This report describes the frequency of individual Zika-associated brain and eye defects among infants from pregnancies with laboratory evidence of confirmed or possible Zika virus infection. Among 6,799 live-born infants in USZPIR born during December 1, 2015-March 31, 2018, 4.6% had any Zika-associated birth defect; in a subgroup of pregnancies with a positive nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for Zika virus infection, the percentage was 6.1% of live-born infants. The brain and eye defects most frequently reported included microcephaly, corpus callosum abnormalities, intracranial calcification, abnormal cortical gyral patterns, ventriculomegaly, cerebral or cortical atrophy, chorioretinal abnormalities, and optic nerve abnormalities. Among infants with any Zika-associated birth defect, one third had more than one defect reported. Certain brain and eye defects in an infant might prompt suspicion of prenatal Zika virus infection. These findings can help target surveillance efforts to the most common brain and eye defects associated with Zika virus infection during pregnancy should a Zika virus outbreak reemerge, and might provide a signal to the reemergence of Zika virus, particularly in geographic regions without ongoing comprehensive Zika virus surveillance.
Introduction
Public health responses often lack the infrastructure to capture the impact of public health emergencies on pregnant women and infants, with limited mechanisms for linking pregnant women ...with their infants nationally to monitor long-term effects. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in close collaboration with state, local, and territorial health departments, began a 5-year initiative to establish population-based mother–baby linked longitudinal surveillance, the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET).
Objectives
The objective of this report is to describe an expanded surveillance approach that leverages and modernizes existing surveillance systems to address the impact of emerging health threats during pregnancy on pregnant women and their infants.
Methods
Mother–baby pairs are identified through prospective identification during pregnancy and/or identification of an infant with retrospective linking to maternal information. All data are obtained from existing data sources (e.g., electronic medical records, vital statistics, laboratory reports, and health department investigations and case reporting).
Results
Variables were selected for inclusion to address key surveillance questions proposed by CDC and health department subject matter experts. General variables include maternal demographics and health history, pregnancy and infant outcomes, maternal and infant laboratory results, and child health outcomes up to the second birthday. Exposure-specific modular variables are included for hepatitis C, syphilis, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The system is structured into four relational datasets (maternal, pregnancy outcomes and birth, infant/child follow-up, and laboratory testing).
Discussion
SET-NET provides a population-based mother–baby linked longitudinal surveillance approach and has already demonstrated rapid adaptation to COVID-19. This innovative approach leverages existing data sources and rapidly collects data and informs clinical guidance and practice. These data can help to reduce exposure risk and adverse outcomes among pregnant women and their infants, direct public health action, and strengthen public health systems.
PDF
