Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Educational Outreach for Providers

Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Educational Outreach for Providers

15 January 2026

Dear Provider,

The Arlington County Public Health Division (ACPHD), in partnership with the Northern Virginia STI/HIV Task Force, is sharing important provider educational materials as a part of our ongoing mission to improve awareness, prevention, and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in our region.

There has been an alarming rise across the U.S. in STIs, particularly syphilis. These trends are also seen in Virginia and Arlington - between 2020 and 2024:

• Virginia had a 74-percent increase in all-stages syphilis, from 21.8 to 38.0 cases per 100,000 population;
• Virginia had an 139-percent increase in congenital syphilis cases from15.8 to 37.8 cases per 100,000 live births; and
• Arlington had a 16-percent increase in the total early syphilis case rate, from 28 to 31 cases per 100,000 population.

As a trusted frontline expert in infection prevention, you play a crucial role in our shared fight against rising STI rates. To support your efforts, we are pleased to share syphilis and congenital syphilis educational toolkit materials (See Toolkit Resources below). The toolkit is designed to empower you and your staff with the knowledge and tools to provide patient care in early STI detection, effective treatment, and infection prevention. 

Toolkit Resources

• Syphilis Information for Providers  (Attachment 1.) - Facts and data on syphilis, alongside best practices and recommendations for screening and management
• Congenital Syphilis Infographic for Patients (Attachment 2.) - Impact of congenital syphilis and guidance on screening pregnant people
• Northern Virginia STI/HIV Testing Locations for Patients (Attachment 3.) -  Information on where and how patients can access free or low-cost testing across Northern Virginia and D.C.

Next Steps

• Share Materials with Your Clinical Teams: Distribute these resources to physicians, nurses, and other staff involved in patient care, especially in prenatal and sexual health clinic settings.
• Encourage Routine Testing: Advocate for syphilis screening for all pregnant patients and at-risk populations in alignment with CDC recommendations.
• Keep Reporting: Immediately report all presumptive and positive syphilis lab results to ACPHD (Attachment 4.Virginia Reportable Diseases and Conditions List).
• Share Feedback: Let us know how these resources are working for your team and share ideas for tools that could better support your efforts.

Please continue to call ACPHD to report diseases and conditions as required by state law (Attachment 4. Virginia Reportable Diseases and Conditions List). Staff are available 24/7 for reports of rapidly reportable diseases and outbreaks:

• Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., call 703-228-7444
• Nights and weekends, call 703-558-2222 and ask for the Public Health Duty Officer

Thank you for all you do to control and prevent the spread of communicable diseases in our community.

Sincerely,

Deidra D. Parrish, MD, MPH&TM
Public Health Director

PDF Version of Letter(PDF, 155KB)