Saskatchewan doctors have received an alert from the Ministry of Health about the high rate of sexually transmitted infections in the province.
The alert is in a news email sent out by the Saskatchewan Medical Association with information from Dr. Denise Werker, the province’s
deputy chief medical health officer.
It says that Saskatchewan’s syphilis rate in 2016 was 2.7 times higher than in 2015 – there were 60 cases as of the end of October, up from 22 in the same period in 2015.<
READ MORE: Saskatchewan HIV rates: ‘We’re going to be facing a catastrophe’
Gonorrhea rates also increased by 39 per cent last year, with the alert stating there were 1,087 cases as of the end of October, up from 779 in the same period in 2015.
The alert outlines risk factors, testing and treatment, saying prompt diagnosis and treatment will help prevent the spread of these infections.
No one from the Ministry of Health was available to comment, but the Opposition NDP says the increasing rates are alarming and the government needs better plans to address the issue.
“They should be really working … with experts in this area to push forward a meaningful strategy, one that’s based on evidence and one that government can actually track and follow and determine whether or not they’re actually being successful or not,” said New Democrat Nicole Sarauer.
Saskatchewan’s rates of sexually transmitted infections are also high compared to the rest of Canada.
The latest figures on the Public Health Agency of Canada website say in 2012, the national average was 298.7 chlamydia cases per 100,000, but was 526 per 100,000 in Saskatchewan. The national gonorrhea rate was 36.2 per 100,000 – jumping to 93.6 per 100,000 in Saskatchewan.
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