It’s hard to imagine that a sexually transmitted infection once thought to be declining is now making a vicious resurgence – however, that is exactly what’s happening with syphilis.
Rates of the infection are increasing across Canada and internationally. Alberta has not seen such high rates of the infection since the 1940s.
The number of infectious syphilis cases have been rising in the province since 2018. Public health officials declared a syphilis outbreak in 2019, with 2,265 new cases of syphilis reported that year alone.
In their 2022 annual report, the the government reported 22,531 cases of STIs and HIV across the province the previous year. This report shows that infectious syphilis continues to rise. More than 3,200 new syphilis infections were reported that year, marking a 28 per cent increase from 2020.
To learn more about how the syphilis resurgence is impacting the province and what is being done about it, please visit www.outbreakalberta.com.