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Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...incewide-syphilis-outbreak-amid-surge-across/
Alberta declares provincewide syphilis outbreak amid surge across Canada
Justin Giovannetti
Published 17 hours ago
Updated July 17, 2019
Alberta?s decision to declare a provincewide outbreak of syphilis is the latest sign the sexually transmitted infection has reached near-record levels as it spreads across Canada.
However, experts say it?s unclear why a contagion that seemed close to eradication a few decades ago is now thriving.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta?s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday that syphilis rates in the province have reached levels not seen since 1948. The 1,536 cases reported in 2018 were a tenfold increase over the 161 reported in 2014, and the rate of increase is only getting worse, she warned.
Syphilis rates have been increasing across Canada for the past decade, along with higher rates of other sexually transmitted infections, but Alberta?s numbers indicating skyrocketing infections in 2018 could be a sign of the problem developing in other provinces, experts warn. In Manitoba, for instance, syphilis cases hit a record high in 2018. Thin public reporting on syphilis, with a number of provinces not reporting new data since 2016, has made it difficult to get a sense of the national scope of the problem...
Alberta declares provincewide syphilis outbreak amid surge across Canada
Justin Giovannetti
Published 17 hours ago
Updated July 17, 2019
Alberta?s decision to declare a provincewide outbreak of syphilis is the latest sign the sexually transmitted infection has reached near-record levels as it spreads across Canada.
However, experts say it?s unclear why a contagion that seemed close to eradication a few decades ago is now thriving.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta?s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday that syphilis rates in the province have reached levels not seen since 1948. The 1,536 cases reported in 2018 were a tenfold increase over the 161 reported in 2014, and the rate of increase is only getting worse, she warned.
Syphilis rates have been increasing across Canada for the past decade, along with higher rates of other sexually transmitted infections, but Alberta?s numbers indicating skyrocketing infections in 2018 could be a sign of the problem developing in other provinces, experts warn. In Manitoba, for instance, syphilis cases hit a record high in 2018. Thin public reporting on syphilis, with a number of provinces not reporting new data since 2016, has made it difficult to get a sense of the national scope of the problem...