Syphilis outbreak in Alberta widespread: report

A syphilis outbreak in Alberta that has been steadily gaining momentum for a decade has health officials sounding the alarm.

The number of reported cases of the sexually transmitted infection has risen from two per 100,000 people in 1999 to 267 per 100,000 people in 2009, according to a report released this month by Alberta Health and Wellness.

"We have a problem," reads the first headline of the document, titled The Syphilis Outbreak in Alberta.

"Alberta continues to experience a sustained outbreak of syphilis which shows no signs of abating," the report says.

The bacterial infection, spread through intimate sexual contact, can be easily treated if detected in its early stages.

The infection frequently has no symptoms, however. When left untreated, syphilis can spread to a patient's brain, heart, blood vessels and bones, and can eventually be fatal.

A growing complacency about safe sex — as people have come to view HIV as a treatable condition rather than a deadly infection — seems to be contributing to the spread of syphilis, said Dr. Martin Lavoie, Alberta's deputy chief medical officer of health.

"We were not talking about syphilis for a long time. It was pretty much absent for the last few decades."

"I think people got used to the fact that, 'OK, sex is safe now', and they started to get careless about using protection," he said, adding that the province will unveil new approaches to deal with the outbreak early next year.

An increasing number of infected women are giving birth to babies with congenital syphilis, the report notes.

In 2009 there were seven confirmed cases of infants born with the condition, which can lead to delayed mental and physical growth. By comparison, only one other Canadian province had a reported case of congenital syphilis last year.

While syphilis infections in Alberta used to be found almost exclusively among gay men living in Edmonton and Calgary, the demographics have shifted as the outbreak has worsened.

'The outbreak is now largely among those identifying their sexual orientation as heterosexual.' —The Syphilis Outbreak in Alberta, Report December 2010

"The outbreak is now largely among those identifying their sexual orientation as heterosexual," the report says.

Edmonton and Calgary continue to have the highest number of cases, but Fort McMurray and Lethbridge are the new "hot spots," with rates exceeding the larger cities.

"Today the outbreak has spread throughout the entire province," the report says.

The report also notes that infection rates are more than 18 times higher among aboriginal women — and almost three times higher among aboriginal men — compared with other Albertans.