{"id":62782,"date":"2021-11-13T08:09:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T15:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=62782"},"modified":"2021-11-13T08:09:40","modified_gmt":"2021-11-13T15:09:40","slug":"syphilis-cases-continue-to-rise-in-alberta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2021\/11\/13\/syphilis-cases-continue-to-rise-in-alberta\/","title":{"rendered":"Syphilis cases continue to rise in Alberta"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Doctor Fighting Disease<\/strong>: Dr. Ameeta Singh is a clinical professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta. (Photo by James Martens\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

O<\/span>ver the last few years in Alberta, there have been an alarming number of cases of an insidious sexually-transmitted infection: syphilis.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We\u2019ve seen numbers of cases come back [to levels] that we haven\u2019t seen since the 1940s,\u201d said Dr. Ameeta Singh, a clinical professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta.<\/p>\n

Cases of the STI have skyrocketed in recent years, with 2,509 reported in Alberta in 2020<\/a>, up from just 535 in 2017.<\/p>\n

However, the actual number might even be higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause our services have been cut back and we have done less testing during the pandemic that actually raises the significant concern that there are a lot more cases out there than the ones that we know about,\u201d said Singh.<\/p>\n

While Singh expected to see cases come down due to social distancing, they continued to rise. She said, “It was shocking because we certainly have the means to test for it, and to treat for it and to prevent it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked for an explanation for the surge in case numbers, Singh responded, \u201cIt\u2019s related to multiple reasons, including the fact that many people have been using social media [and] dating apps to arrange casual sexual contact.\u201d She also said that lowered inhibitions due to alcohol and drug use is another possible cause.<\/p>\n

Some cases of syphilis are asymptomatic, which might prevent people from getting tested. When Carlos Flores received his diagnosis, he was shocked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a call from the doctor\u2019s office and it came out of nowhere because I wasn\u2019t feeling anything,\u201d said Flores.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone engaging in sexual activity with one or more partners without using barrier protection is at risk,\u201d said Singh, adding, \u201cEven if you don\u2019t have any symptoms, it\u2019s really important to get tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

The infection progresses in stages and, if left untreated, can cause blindness, deafness, paralysis, and \u201cproblems with the brain and nervous system,\u201d said Singh, adding, \u201cAll of that is completely preventable. In most cases, treatment is just one injection of penicillin.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lack of information may be partially to blame.<\/p>\n

“Before my diagnosis, I didn\u2019t really know a lot about syphilis and what can happen if you do catch it,\u201d said Flores.<\/p>\n

Singh encourages anyone who may be at risk to get tested by mentioning that it is important for your current health as well as your long-term health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the last few years in Alberta, there have been an alarming number of cases of an insidious sexually-transmitted infection: syphilis. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":712,"featured_media":62787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Syphilis JM","footnotes":""},"categories":[1106,1591],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-62782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physical-health-and-wellness","8":"category-provincial-national-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/712"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62782"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62945,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62782\/revisions\/62945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}