While federal officials have called syphilis an “ongoing crisis,” Rourke said the situation should be dubbed an emergency that requires urgent on-the-ground efforts — before more vulnerable Canadians bear the brunt of escalating outbreaks.
While rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea dipped starting in 2020, likely due to reduced testing during COVID-related restrictions, syphilis maintained its upward trend after a briefer lull and remains a major concern for public health officials.
In recent years the country’s syphilis rates were also rising faster than in the United States or Europe, a Reuters report noted in March 2023, which pinned the spike on poor health-care access and discrimination faced by Canada’s Indigenous communities, concentrated across the Prairies.
Adam Grant, an Edmonton-based registered nurse and sexually transmitted and blood-borne illness team lead with Indigenous Services Canada, has met with pregnant individuals who find out they’re infected with syphilis at various points in their pregnancy.
Awareness of bacterial STIs also dropped over time, leading clinicians to assume syphilis was no longer a threat, noted Dr. Kevin Woodward, an associate professor at McMaster University in Hamilton and the medical and executive director at HQ Toronto, a health hub offering STI and HIV testing.
The federal government does publish national syphilis guidelines, provides surge capacity to regions impacted by outbreaks, and offers “ongoing and time-limited” funding for community-based organizations to conduct outreach, education and testing, the statement continues.
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While federal officials have called syphilis an “ongoing crisis,” Rourke said the situation should be dubbed an emergency that requires urgent on-the-ground efforts — before more vulnerable Canadians bear the brunt of escalating outbreaks.
While rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea dipped starting in 2020, likely due to reduced testing during COVID-related restrictions, syphilis maintained its upward trend after a briefer lull and remains a major concern for public health officials.
In recent years the country’s syphilis rates were also rising faster than in the United States or Europe, a Reuters report noted in March 2023, which pinned the spike on poor health-care access and discrimination faced by Canada’s Indigenous communities, concentrated across the Prairies.
Adam Grant, an Edmonton-based registered nurse and sexually transmitted and blood-borne illness team lead with Indigenous Services Canada, has met with pregnant individuals who find out they’re infected with syphilis at various points in their pregnancy.
Awareness of bacterial STIs also dropped over time, leading clinicians to assume syphilis was no longer a threat, noted Dr. Kevin Woodward, an associate professor at McMaster University in Hamilton and the medical and executive director at HQ Toronto, a health hub offering STI and HIV testing.
The federal government does publish national syphilis guidelines, provides surge capacity to regions impacted by outbreaks, and offers “ongoing and time-limited” funding for community-based organizations to conduct outreach, education and testing, the statement continues.
The original article contains 1,464 words, the summary contains 229 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!