In 2024, B.C. had 1,049 cases of infectious syphilis in six months, up from 154 cases in all of 2010, showing a “dramatic” increase in cases, says Dr. Vincent Valdrez, BC Centre for Disease Control.
Fraser Health has launched a public awareness campaign encouraging pregnant people and people with syphilis symptoms to get tested for the sexually transmitted infection as cases continue to climb in British Columbia.
A decade ago most syphilis cases were among men who have sex with men, but today two-thirds of syphilis cases occur in people who report having only heterosexual partners, and one-third of all cases are in women, he said. The first stage usually consists of a painless sore or sores on the genitals, lips, mouth or anus. The infection then spreads to the rest of the body. At the second stage, symptoms can include a non-itchy rash on the chest, belly, genitals, palms or soles of the feet, having a headache, fever, hair loss or swollen lymph nodes, and having bumps or patches inside the mouth, anus and genitals, according to the SmartSexResource, a service provided by the BC Centre for Disease Control.
“It’s very important to catch syphilis early and to treat it early to prevent these longer-term effects,” Valdrez said.An increase in infections in people assigned female at birth is doubly concerning because of the risk of congenital syphilis, in which a pregnant person can transmit the infection to a developing fetus, Valdrez said.
There were 355 cases of infectious syphilis in females aged 15 to 49 during the first half of this year, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control. Twenty-three of those cases were diagnosed during prenatal screening.In 2019 B.C. introduced a new guideline for pregnant people to test for syphilis during the first trimester or at the first prenatal visit, and again during delivery.
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