EDMONTON—Alberta is continuing to see high cases of syphilis—including in babies and the elderly, according to a report published by Alberta Health and Wellness last week.
“We have a Problem,” begins the report, prepared by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. It says the number of cases of the sexually transmitted infection have increased dramatically since 2000.
“The urgent need to interrupt this outbreak is compounded by the occurrence of babies being born with congenital syphilis, a situation that is completely preventable,” reads the report.
There were seven confirmed cases of infants born with congenital syphilis in Alberta in 2009, and another six infants are still under investigation, says the report. During the same year, there was only one case of congenital syphilis reported in other provinces.
Howard May, a spokesman with Alberta Health and Wellness (AHW), says the cause of the rising rates is not clear at this point, but complacency about safe sex is a contributing factor.
“The rising rates of syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Alberta are a serious concern,” he wrote in an email.
According to figures published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the rate of infection per 100,000 people in Alberta was 7.3, higher than other provinces in Canada in 2009 (though lower than Yukon Territories and Northwest Territories), followed by Ontario with 5.4, and Quebec and British Columbia with 4.8 each.
The AHW report says the disease, which was most commonly found among homosexual men before 2000 and mostly seen in the large urban centres of Edmonton and Calgary, has now spread outside the high-risk groups and is being found in all segments of the population and throughout the entire province.
“The disease is being found in young children under one year of age; teenagers as young as 14; seniors as old as 84; university students and professionals,” the report says.
“We have a Problem,” begins the report, prepared by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. It says the number of cases of the sexually transmitted infection have increased dramatically since 2000.
“The urgent need to interrupt this outbreak is compounded by the occurrence of babies being born with congenital syphilis, a situation that is completely preventable,” reads the report.
There were seven confirmed cases of infants born with congenital syphilis in Alberta in 2009, and another six infants are still under investigation, says the report. During the same year, there was only one case of congenital syphilis reported in other provinces.
Howard May, a spokesman with Alberta Health and Wellness (AHW), says the cause of the rising rates is not clear at this point, but complacency about safe sex is a contributing factor.
“The rising rates of syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Alberta are a serious concern,” he wrote in an email.
According to figures published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the rate of infection per 100,000 people in Alberta was 7.3, higher than other provinces in Canada in 2009 (though lower than Yukon Territories and Northwest Territories), followed by Ontario with 5.4, and Quebec and British Columbia with 4.8 each.
The AHW report says the disease, which was most commonly found among homosexual men before 2000 and mostly seen in the large urban centres of Edmonton and Calgary, has now spread outside the high-risk groups and is being found in all segments of the population and throughout the entire province.
“The disease is being found in young children under one year of age; teenagers as young as 14; seniors as old as 84; university students and professionals,” the report says.
