\u201cCongenital syphilis in Italy: multicentre study\u201d.

Objective To study the prevalence of congenital syphilis and its risk factors in Italy. Study design Prospective study from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007. Data on mother\u2013child pairs were collected for every syphilis seropositive mother. Results Maternal syphilis seroprevalence at delivery was 0.17%. 207 infants were born to 203 syphilis seropositive mothers. In 25 newborns it was possible to diagnose congenital syphilis (20/100 000 live births). Maternal risk factors included age <20 years, no antenatal care and no adequate treatment. The infected babies were more often preterm or weighed