The government wants people to be aware after rates of STIs spike dramatically.

Gonorrhea and infectious syphilis have been a particular problem over the last year, with cases of gonorrhea in 2015 up 80 per cent from 2014, and cases of infectious syphilis in 2015 doubled from 2014. Health officials lay some of the blame on a very modern cause.

“New social media tools enable people to communicate quickly to arrange anonymous sexual encounters, resulting in increased difficulty in tracking STIs,” said Dr. Karen Grimsrud, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “When people don’t know their sexual partners’ identities, it makes it difficult to contact partners for follow-up testing and treatment.”

Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services (AHS) are working together to raise awareness of the outbreak, the risks of anonymous sexual encounters, the importance of testing, and safe sex practices.

STI clinic hours in Edmonton and Calgary have been extended, and doctors are being encouraged to test for STIs in patients who are sexually active.

AHS advises the public to visit www.sexgerms.com to learn more about STIs.

STIs in Alberta

Gonorrhea

More than 3,400 cases reported in Alberta in 2015 (an 80 per cent increase from 2014).

This rate (82 cases/100,000 population) is the highest reported since the late 1980s.

The overall female rate in 2015 has increased 93 per cent from 2014.

The overall male rate increased by 66 per cent.

Nearly half of all cases among females reported Indigenous ethnicity.

The estimated rates among MSM are 11 times higher than the provincial rate for all males.

Syphilis

More than 350 cases of infectious syphilis in Alberta in 2015, doubling case counts from 2014 case counts, and surpassing recent historic highs last seen in 2009.

Majority of cases (86 per cent) were MSM. One-quarter of all cases were also infected with HIV.

with files from AHS