Syphilis cases in babies skyrocket in Canada amid healthcare failures

A baby rests surrounded by toys at the Sanctum Hospice and Care Home amid a syphilis resurgence, with infection rates concentrated in western provinces, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Nayan Sthankiya

TORONTO (Reuters) - The numbers of babies born with syphilis in Canada are rising at a far faster rate than recorded in the United States or Europe, an increase public health experts said is driven by increased methamphetamine use and lack of access to the public health system for Indigenous people.

While syphilis has made a global resurgence over the last five years, Canada is an outlier among wealthy nations in its rate of increase: 13-fold over five years, according to Health Canada. The incidence of babies born with syphilis reached 26 per 100,000 live births in 2021, the most recent year available, up from 2 in 2017, according to the Health Canada data.