Syphilis claiming Alberta babies

Strategies to stymie a rising tide of syphilis cases that have killed four Alberta babies at birth in the past two years are being reviewed, says a provincial health official.

Alberta's syphilis rate -- 7.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2009 -- is the highest in the nation and has led to the deaths of four babies, three of them in the Edmonton area, said the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Andre Corriveau.

"They were stillborn -- it's one of the complications of the exposure before birth," said Corriveau.