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By Susan McNeil
The rate of syphilis cases in Saskatchewan has seen a massive jump since an outbreak was first declared in 2019.
Dr. Ibrahim Khan, regional medical officer of health for Indigenous Services Canada, said that in 2022, there were 850 cases found, an increase of 639 per cent from several years ago.
“In 2019, we saw an unprecedented number of syphilis and that led to a declaration of a syphilis-specific outbreak in December of 2019,” said Khan. “Since then, we have seen a constant increase in the number of cases and basically the number of syphilis impacting pregnant women and babies born with syphilis.”
Between 2020 and now, seven babies have been stillborn because of syphilis and another 24 cases of early congenital infection in newborns have been reported in on-reserve population.
“These are really very high numbers for the Indigenous population,” Khan explained.
This graphic was created in 2020. Numbers have increased exponentially since then. (Public Health Canada/Screenshot)
The incidence of syphilis in Prince Albert grew 8.5 per cent between 2021 and 2022 with 268 cases diagnosed last year, the Saskatchewan Health Authority reported. That does not include numbers seen in reserve populations.
The numbers are counted separately because on-reserve health is a federal area of responsibility while provinces manage the remainder of the population.
Increased cases are not isolated to Prince Albert or Saskatchewan; both Manitoba and Alberta have higher numbers as well.
For pregnant women, the potential impact on their baby is staggering. Between 70 and 100 per cent of cases caught during the late stages of pregnancy transmit from mother to child and 40 per cent in earlier stages of pregnancy.
It can also spread through breastfeeding and can cause pre-term births (23 per cent) and low birth weights, and has a 26 per cent risk of still birth and a 16 per cent chance of neonatal death.
“With syphilis, which we call early congenital syphilis or babies born diseased to a mother that had been infected with syphilis, those numbers broke all previous records,” said Khan.
Caring for even one baby born with early congenital syphilis is considered an emergency in the health-care field, he explained, and is currently a priority for all concerned.
Officials are working towards increasing the resources and accessibility for people with the condition. Many of the expectant mothers on reserve do not have easy access to health care because of their location so two mobile clinics have been put into service.
The hope is with increased focus and effort, the number of new cases can be reduced by one half.
One such effort is giving nurses the ability to test a patient and treat them the same day.
Treatment includes medication and monitoring of the patient. Health-care staff are also hoping to reduce some of the stigma attached so that more people will choose to be tested and then follow up with treatment.
“We want to have Indigenous-led, holistic, trauma-informed care available for these clients wherever they live,” Khan said.
Treating the mother with antibiotics before the baby is born can eliminate any potential health impacts.
