{"id":671979,"date":"2026-05-15T21:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T21:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/671979\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T21:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T21:15:11","slug":"women-now-account-for-most-new-cases-of-syphilis-in-the-n-w-t-says-territorys-top-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/671979\/","title":{"rendered":"Women now account for most new cases of syphilis in the N.W.T., says territory’s top doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven years after a syphilis outbreak was declared in the Northwest Territories, the territory\u2019s top doctor says there’s been a shift in who’s being infected.<\/p>\n

And Dr. Kami Kandola says the numbers suggest that young women, and those who use substances, may be more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

When the N.W.T. declared the outbreak in 2019, about 60 per cent of syphilis cases were in men. Last year, about 60 per cent of the new cases were among women.<\/p>\n

Kandola said about 40 per cent of all those with syphilis reported being under the influence of substances when they became infected, and that impaired their sexual decision-making. The most common substances reported were alcohol followed by crack cocaine.<\/p>\n

Women, according to Kandola, can be particularly vulnerable when impaired because they may not have the ability to negotiate safe sex or leave a dangerous situation. She also points to an age gap, where the females with syphilis tend to be younger than the males.<\/p>\n

“It’s very important, especially with young girls and adolescents … if they’re being coerced or any way feeling forced to engage in sexual activity early, that they be able to call and reach for help,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Younger females may not have the negotiating power. There’s an authority figure \u2026 someone could be supplying them with affection, presents and things like that. So it gets complex. It’s definitely about empowering young women to be able to assert their wishes and not be coerced in the situation.”<\/p>\n

Reinfections driving syphilis infections<\/p>\n

The N.W.T. has the highest syphilis rate in the country, according to the most recent data published<\/a> by the Public Health Agency of Canada. An outbreak was declared in 2019<\/a> after the government reported a dramatic increase in cases. Since Jan. 1, 2019, there have been 10 babies born with syphilis<\/a>, including two stillbirths.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the number of infections soared to 218 from 115 the year before. That same year the territory launched a pilot program where about 200 free condom dispensers were installed in communities across the territory.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In 2022, the number of syhpilis infections in the N.W.T. soared to 218 from 116 the year before. Also in 2022, the government launched a pilot program where free condom dispensers were installed in communities across the territory. (Katherine Barton\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The infections have since come down, with 189 cases reported in 2023, 108 in 2024 and 103 last year.<\/p>\n

Still, Kandola says the rate in 2025 was double what it was in 2019.<\/p>\n

So far this year, there have been 18 syphilis cases reported as of May.<\/p>\n

“It is declining, but it’s not over,” Kandola said.<\/p>\n

However, the decline in cases is complicated by reinfections, Kandola said.<\/p>\n

“Since 2023, on an average, about 16 per cent of our cases were reinfections,” she said. “That\u2019s still a significant number.”<\/p>\n

She attributed the reinfections to “high risk sexual activity” such as having multiple partners or engaging in unprotected sex while under the influence of substances, especially when people haven’t been tested or treated, allowing the infection to spread.<\/p>\n

Without targeted public health messaging people will keep getting reinfected \u2014 even though syphilis is curable with antibiotics, she added.<\/p>\n

“When you want to get rid of syphilis, it’s not only you who has to be treated, it has to be your partner as well. And if people don’t test, we don’t know, we can’t treat.”<\/p>\n

\"N.W.T.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kami Kandola, N.W.T.’s chief public health officer, attributed the rate of syphilis reinfections to ‘high risk sexual activity’ such as having multiple partners or engaging in unprotected sex while under the influence of substances, especially when people haven’t been tested or treated. (Graham Shishkov\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Kandola says a majority of the infections are being detected relatively early \u2013 within the first year \u2013 when they are easy to treat.<\/p>\n

However, the infection can be easy to miss in its early stages because the first sign is often a painless sore that disappears, and some people have flu-like symptoms that are usually dismissed, she said.<\/p>\n

In the later stages, the disease becomes non-infectious but causes long-term damage to the heart, brain and other organs if left untreated, she added.<\/p>\n

Since launching a pilot program in 2022, the territory has installed 306 condom dispensers and distributed almost 100,000 free condoms, said Alana Kronstal, health promotion manager in the office of the chief public health officer.<\/p>\n

But that supply could face pressure. The world\u2019s largest condom manufacturer, based in Malaysia, said last month it plans to raise prices by 20 to 30 per cent and possibly more<\/a> as the U.S.-Israel war in Iran disrupts supply chains.<\/p>\n

In an email, the N.W.T. health department said it was committed to supplying free condoms “as long as we are able.”<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

A nurse draws blood from another nurse during a training session on how to use the rapid syphilis testing kits in Yellowknife in 2022. (Liny Lamberink\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Kronstal said that while condom prices are going up worldwide, they haven\u2019t yet affected supplies in the Northwest Territories.<\/p>\n

“Frankly, I don\u2019t think that we would \u2026 shy away from continuing to fund the program even if costs go up, because the cost of treating somebody with syphilis versus preventing it with a condom \u2013 there’s no comparison.”<\/p>\n

A lack of trust in the health-care system remains one of the biggest barriers to people getting tested and treated, Kronstal said.<\/p>\n

“We have a long way to go in terms of building trust and confidence in our health-care system,” she said. “Folks need to feel safe in a health-care system in order to seek treatment.”<\/p>\n

Kandola said ending the outbreak in N.W.T. would take a combination of getting more people tested and treated early so they don\u2019t infect others, regularly assessing those treated for reinfections, and building trust over time.<\/p>\n

“Just continue to talk about sexually-transmitted and blood borne infection prevention, also substance use,” she said.<\/p>\n

“These are the type of activities that will eventually build trust.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven years after a syphilis outbreak was declared in the Northwest Territories, the territory\u2019s top doctor says there’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,247412,84,247410,247411,2728],"class_list":["post-671979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-free-condom","tag-health","tag-kami-kandola","tag-pilot-program","tag-syphilis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}