Congenital Syphilis Rises 2,345 Percent in Ontario, Up 599 Percent in Canada, Reports Show

Rates of syphilis during pregnancy have risen a whopping 2,345 percent in Ontario in just four years, according to recently released government data. Cases of congenital syphilis—where the disease is passed to a baby during pregnancy or at birth—have increased substantially across Canada, rising 599 percent between 2018 and 2022, the last year for which figures are available. While Ontario’s increase is far and away the largest of all of the provinces, Manitoba saw a 199 percent increase in cases while Alberta’s caseload shot up 420 percent, Health Canada stats show. Figures released by Public Health Ontario (PHO) this year revealed this previously rare disease is now hitting numbers that haven’t been observed in decades....