Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and infectious syphilis in Canada, 2019 (infographic)

Download in PDF format
(1,94 MB, 1 page)

Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada

Date published: 2022-02-14

The Public Health Agency of Canada collects information on reported cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and infectious syphilis through the Canadian Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (CNDSS).

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and infectious syphilisFootnote *

From 2015 to 2019 Footnote †, chlamydia continued to be the most commonly reported STI, however infectious syphilis rates increased the most.

Table 1. Percent change relative to the reference year of 2015 (%)
Year Chlamydia Gonorrhea Infectious syphilis
2015 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2016 2.9% 18.3% 19.8%
2017 6.0% 43.1% 26.1%
2018 10.1% 68.4% 89.8%
2019 13.7% 69.9% 174.4%
Table 2. Number of cases reported in 2019
Infectious syphilis 9,245 cases
Gonorrhea 35,443 cases
Chlamydia 139,386 cases

In 2019, 74% of chlamydia cases, 51% of gonorrhea cases and 39% of infectious syphilis cases were among people less than 30 years of age.

Table 3. Proportion of cases per age group (2019)
Age group (years) Chlamydia Gonorrhea Infectious syphilis
15-24 53.9% 28.8% 19.1%
25-29 20.2% 22.2% 20.2%
30-39 17.1% 29.4% 31.6%
40+ 8.1% 18.8% 29.0%

Rates per 100,000 population by province or territory

Table 4. Rates per 100,000 population by province or territory (2019)
PT Chlamydia Gonorrhea Infectious syphilis
BC 337.7 81.9 17.3
AB 417.1 122.3 51.9
SK 516.2 155.4 33.7
MB 601.0 272.5 136.7
ON 354.1 76.6 16.4
QC 337.1 88.5 14.0
NB 290.7 7.9 2.2
NS 327.6 24.4 5.9
PEI 256.9 11.4 1.3
NL 198.9 10.1 6.3
YT 757.0 38.6 2.4
NT 1,901.0 1,165.9 97.7
NU 3,876.8 2,108.0 266.7
Canada 370.8 94.3 24.6

Cases in 2019, by sex:

Table 5. Proportion of cases per sex (2019)
Sex Chlamydia Gonorrhea Infectious syphilis
Male 42% 66% 72%
Female 58% 34% 28%

Percent change in rates from 2015 to 2019, by sex

From 2015 to 2019, chlamydia and gonorrhea rates increased more in males. Infectious syphilis rates increased more in females.

Table 6. Percent change in rates from 2015 to 2019 by sex (%)
Sex Chlamydia Gonorrhea Infectious syphilis
Male ↑ 25% ↑ 77% ↑ 109%
Female ↑ 7% ↑ 58% ↑ 1218%

Have the conversation with your clients

  • Offer appropriate STI screening, testing, and treatment
  • Provide client-centered counselling to clients and their partners
  • Empower clients to recognize and minimize STI risk

Note

For more information, visit Sexual health
Data source: Public Health Agency of Canada, “Notifiable Disease Online,” 2021 [Online]. Available at : https://diseases.canada.ca/notifiable

Footnotes

Footnote *

Infectious syphilis includes the primary, secondary and early latent (less than one year after infection) stages of infection

Return to footnote * referrer

Footnote †

Includes reported cases, by reporting year

Return to footnote † referrer

Page details

Date modified: