Abstract:
Syphilis is a chronic infectious disease caused by the spirochaete Treponema
pallidum. It has significant long-term morbidity for mothers and can cause serious
complications in pregnancy, which may result in spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and
other negative outcomes including congenital syphilis. There is currently, no data on
the burden of syphilis in pregnant women in Juba Southern Sudan. A cross-sectional
study was carried out in three antenatal clinics in Juba information collected was on
demographics (level of education, marital status, occupation history of abortion and
others). About 231 consenting pregnant women were recruited using a standard
questionnaire and 5ml of blood was collected. Samples were tested for syphilis
using both RPR and TPHA tests. Out of the 231 samples 51 (22.1%) tested positive
for active syphilis. Significant risk factors identified were being a housewife, history
of abortion and history of partner travel, while attending antenatal clinic for previous
pregnancy was associated with having less syphilis factor. Factors which were not
significantly associated with syphilis were polygamous marriages (p= 0.355), given
birth before (p= 0.386) and duration of stay with partner (p= 0.161). The prevalence
of syphilis in pregnant women in Juba Southern Sudan is still high compared to other
studies. Results show that screening and treating mothers for syphilis in their first
visit to ANC can reduce the prevalence and outcomes of syphilis in pregnancy.
Syphilis routine testing in ANC and pregnant women should be encouraged to attend
ANCs.