The number of babies born with syphilis in Canada increases the a much faster pace than in the United States or Europe, according to provisional data from the country’s government obtained by Reuters.
The agency reports that 26 out of 100 thousand newborns in 2021 were diagnosed with the diseasecompared to 2 in 2017, while in 2022 the number increased even more.
This increase is concentrated in three provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. According to experts, the phenomenon is due to increased methamphetamine use already lack of access of indigenous peoples to public health.
One of the problems facing Canada is the situation of its indigenous populationswho suffer discrimination and often have little access to health and social services, noted Sean Rourkea scientist at the Li Ka Shing Institute of Knowledge in Toronto.
«The system always talks about patients with difficult access. but i think they are healthcare professionals who are difficult to contact«pointed Susanne Nicolay, head nurse at the Wellness Wheel clinic in Saskatchewan.
Meanwhile, Health Canada told Reuters it has taken the necessary steps, sending epidemiologists to help provinces contain the rise in congenital syphilis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), babies with syphilis have a higher risk of being born with under weight, bone malformations y sensory difficulties. The disease can be easily prevented if an infected patient has access to penicillin during pregnancy. However, syphilis in mothers is often diagnosed too late, causing their children to end up being born with the disease. With all this, modern medicine is so advanced that many things have to go wrong for a baby to be born with syphilis, said Jared Bullard, a Manitoba pediatrician.
Source: RT in Spanish