title: Symptomatic Early Congenital Syphilis: A Common but Forgotten Disease.
abstract: Congenital syphilis is a severe, disabling infection often with grave consequences seen in infants. It occurs due to the transmission of the disease from an infected mother to the unborn infant through the placenta. Congenital syphilis can involve any organ system and present with various symptoms. However, early diagnosis of congenital syphilis is difficult because more than half of the affected infants are asymptomatic, and the signs in symptomatic infants may be subtle and nonspecific. The continuing prevalence of this disease reveals the failure of control measures established for its prevention. Here we report a case of a one-month infant who presented with skin rash. The report stresses upon the importance of implementing the World Health Organization's recommendation that all pregnant women should be screened for syphilis in the first antenatal visit in the first trimester and again in the late pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Medicine, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore.
authors.forename: Usman
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Medicine, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore.
authors.forename: Usman
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Yaqoob
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Medicine, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore.
authors.forename: Nazia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Medicine, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore.
authors.forename: Attia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bari
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D010402:Penicillin G Procaine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000382:microbiology; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis; D013590:Syphilis, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010402:Penicillin G Procaine