N.W.T. sounds alarm about syphilis comeback

A recent outbreak of syphilis in the Northwest Territories shows no signs of abating, health officials say.

The sexually transmitted infection, once thought to be almost extinct, appears to be making a comeback in the territory. Six cases discovered in August have grown to 33 cases as of this week. Before August, there had not been a single reported case in the N.W.T. for the past five years.

Specific regions hit by the outbreak are the Sahtu and Tlicho regions, as well as the communities of Yellowknife and Fort Smith, Health Department officials said.

"Although it's not spreading evenly across our regions and communities, it is sort of making its way across the N.W.T.," Dr. Andre Corriveau, the territory's chief medical officer, said Thursday.

"It's following on an outbreak that's been evolving in Alberta for the last two years."

While only certain regions seem to have been affected to date, Corriveau stressed that anyone having unprotected sex is at risk of infection.

"Our assessment was that we needed to send a warning to all the public, and this is what I still feel," he said.

"The identification of a single individual might make other people feel they're not at risk because they don't know that person, and that would be counterproductive in the long term."

Syphilis is usually transmitted through sexual contact and initially results in a painless, open sore or ulcer in the area of exposure. The second stage, from one to six months after infection, sees a rash develop on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet.

The bacterial infection is easily cured in the early stages, typically with antibiotics. But if left untreated, the disease eventually attacks the heart, eyes and brain and can lead to mental illness, blindness and death, as many as 50 years after transmission.

Wanda White, a communicable-disease specialist with the N.W.T. Health Department, said the syphilis outbreak likely came from Alberta and was spread by people using intravenous drugs. It was then spread further by people having heterosexual sex, she added.

"Our initial cases were imported, and then we started to see transmission within the community with people just having sexual activity with one another," White said.

One of the biggest challenges in controlling the disease's spread is convincing people with symptoms to get tested, Corriveau said. Their sexual partners would also need to be tested, he added.