Sexually transmitted infections (STI) such as syphilis and resistant gonorrhea have public health officials and staff at Canadian nursing homes and retirement communities taking note.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have been steadily rising since the late 1990s.
Young Canadians continue to have the highest reported rates of infections, but increasing numbers are occurring among middle-aged and older adults, cbc.ca reported
“We have people up until their 80s coming to our clinics,” said Jennifer Ronan, public health nurse at Hastings Prince Edward Public Health in Belleville, Ontario.
Health officials in Alberta are dealing with outbreak levels of gonorrhea and syphilis. Syphilis is on the rise in Manitoba and Ontario reported a 30% increase in gonorrhea cases from 2013 to 2015, with 5,932 cases last year.
Ontario also had 1,055 cases of syphilis in 2015 and 39,022 of chlamydia.
