Syphilis cases in Canadian babies increase 13-fold over 5 years

Canada is witnessing an alarming rise in the number of babies born with syphilis, with public health experts attributing the trend to the increasing use of methamphetamine and the lack of access to the public health system for Indigenous people.

According to Health Canada, the incidence of babies born with syphilis has increased 13-fold over the last five years, reaching 26 per 100,000 live births in 2021, up from 2 in 2017. The total is expected to increase further in 2022, the most recent data year, according to preliminary government data obtained by Reuters. In comparison, among wealthy nations, Canada has the highest rate of increase of syphilis cases.

Babies with congenital syphilis are at a higher risk of low birth weight, bone malformations, and sensory difficulties. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), syphilis in pregnancy is the second-leading cause of stillbirth worldwide. However, congenital syphilis is easily preventable if the infected person has access to penicillin during their pregnancy.

The United States is the only other G7 nation to have a higher incidence of syphilis at birth, with 74 per 100,000 live births in 2021, triple the rate in 2017, according to preliminary figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Public health researchers have said that people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and drug use, and those with inadequate access to the health system, are more likely to contract syphilis through unsafe sex and pass it to their babies. "It's a marker of inequality. It's a marker of low-quality prenatal care," said Teodora Elvira Wi, who works in the WHO's HIV, Hepatitis and sexually transmitted infection program.

Canada's Indigenous populations are particularly vulnerable, Reuters says, as they often face discrimination and have poor access to health and social services.

Sean Rourke, a scientist with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, who focuses on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, said that the entire system has failed to support Indigenous communities.

Health Canada has dispatched epidemiologists to help provinces contain the increase in congenital syphilis. The federal government is expanding testing and treatment access in Indigenous communities, according to spokesperson Joshua Coke. The WHO has also called for increased access to prenatal care, syphilis screening, and treatment to reduce the incidence of congenital syphilis.