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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/syphilis-outbreak-grows-nwt-1.6574805
Chief public health officer flags 'alarming' growth of syphilis rates in N.W.T.
Get tested, says Dr. Kami Kandola — especially if you're an expectant mother
CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2022 11:48 AM CT | Last Updated: September 12
The N.W.T. has already seen more cases of syphilis this year than it did in all of 2021, and the territory's chief public health officer is urging people to get tested.
On Monday morning, Dr. Kami Kandola told The Trailbreaker that — three and a half years after she declared a territory-wide outbreak — rates have continued to rise at an "alarming" rate.
"At that time [of the outbreak declaration], rates of syphilis were the highest that they had ever been ... Today, in 2022, rates have far exceeded those in 2019," she said.
In 2021, the N.W.T.'s syphilis rate was seven times higher than the national average. The Public Health Agency of Canada says infectious syphilis rates have gone up substantially across the country over the past decade, and many outbreaks have been reported in the past five years.
A bacterial infection usually transmitted through sexual activity, syphilis is generally infectious for the first year that someone has it, before it tends to go dormant. It can cause serious health issues if left untreated — including blindness, brain damage and death.
There were 115 cases of the infection recorded in 2021, most of them infectious. This year, the territory had already reached 129 total cases by Sept. 7...
Chief public health officer flags 'alarming' growth of syphilis rates in N.W.T.
Get tested, says Dr. Kami Kandola — especially if you're an expectant mother
CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2022 11:48 AM CT | Last Updated: September 12
The N.W.T. has already seen more cases of syphilis this year than it did in all of 2021, and the territory's chief public health officer is urging people to get tested.
On Monday morning, Dr. Kami Kandola told The Trailbreaker that — three and a half years after she declared a territory-wide outbreak — rates have continued to rise at an "alarming" rate.
"At that time [of the outbreak declaration], rates of syphilis were the highest that they had ever been ... Today, in 2022, rates have far exceeded those in 2019," she said.
In 2021, the N.W.T.'s syphilis rate was seven times higher than the national average. The Public Health Agency of Canada says infectious syphilis rates have gone up substantially across the country over the past decade, and many outbreaks have been reported in the past five years.
A bacterial infection usually transmitted through sexual activity, syphilis is generally infectious for the first year that someone has it, before it tends to go dormant. It can cause serious health issues if left untreated — including blindness, brain damage and death.
There were 115 cases of the infection recorded in 2021, most of them infectious. This year, the territory had already reached 129 total cases by Sept. 7...