Alaska records 503 syphilis cases in 2025, highest in recent history, with 14 congenital cases

Alaska recorded 503 syphilis cases in 2025, the highest number in recent state history, along with 14 congenital syphilis cases, a record high for a condition that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or lifelong disability in newborns.

The Alaska Department of Health's Section of Epidemiology released the figures Wednesday in its annual syphilis bulletin. Most cases were concentrated in the Anchorage and Mat-Su region. Housing instability and incomplete treatment were identified as key barriers, the bulletin said.

Congenital syphilis occurs when a pregnant person passes an untreated infection to their baby. The condition is preventable. The bulletin recommends testing at the first prenatal visit, again in the third trimester, and at delivery. The 2025 count of 14 surpasses the previous record of 12 set in 2022, itself a number that arrived after decades during which fewer than one congenital case was reported annually in Alaska.

The bulletin also recommends routine syphilis screening for all sexually active adults, more frequent testing for people with higher risk factors, and prompt partner testing and treatment as key steps to reducing spread and preventing congenital syphilis.

"Syphilis incidence has risen sharply in both Alaska and across the United States in recent years," the Section of Epidemiology said in the bulletin. "Particularly alarming is the increase among women of reproductive age, who accounted for 44% of cases in 2024. As a result, congenital syphilis, which occurs when syphilis is inadequately treated during pregnancy, also surged, reaching a record high of 12 cases in 2022, after decades during which fewer than one case was reported annually."

Disparate Impact

The outbreak is not hitting all communities equally. Indian Health Service data show that American Indian and Alaska Native people had the largest increase in primary and secondary syphilis of any racial or ethnic group between 2018 and 2022, and congenital syphilis rates among AI/AN people rose for five consecutive years, reaching the highest rate of any group in 2022.

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic put the trajectory plainly in a June 2025 assessment: syphilis has increased twenty-fold in Alaska since 2016, and the state is experiencing the worst syphilis outbreak in its history.

The full bulletin is available at the Alaska Division of Public Health epidemiology bulletins website.