Enhanced Surveillance of Antimicrobial-Resistant Gonorrhea in Canada (infographic)

• Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Canada^{Footnote 2}
• Reported gonorrhea rates almost tripled in Canada from 2010 to 2019^{Footnote 2}
• Greater than 35,000 gonorrhea cases were reported in 2019^{Footnote 2}

What is the Public Health Agency of Canada doing to address AMR-GC?

• The National Microbiology Laboratory supports provincial and territorial (PT) laboratories by providing AMR testing and analysis of gonorrhea isolates^{Footnote 1}
• PHAC established the Enhanced Surveillance of Antimicrobial-Resistant Gonorrhea (ESAG) system, which uses linked PT-reported epidemiologic, gonorrhea treatment and gonorrhea-culture data to improve the understanding of emerging AMR-GC trends in Canada^{Footnote 3}
• Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories participate in ESAG; recruitment of additional jurisdictions is ongoing
• Monitoring trends in AMR-GC helps inform targeted public health interventions for prevention, testing and treatment

AMR-GC surveillance knowledge gaps

• Cultures allow for the detection and monitoring of AMR-GC trends
• In 2019, more than 80% of gonorrhea cases were diagnosed by nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), for which there is no antimicrobial susceptibility data^{Footnote 1}
• An increase in NAATs and a decrease in cultures can lead to limited AMR data

You can make a difference!

Detection

• Collect specimens, including cultures, as per national and local screening and treatment guidelines^{Footnote 4}

Surveillance

• Collect enhanced data such as risk factors and infection site
• Report AMR-GC to public health authorities, where appropriate

Treatment

• Treat according to national and local guidelines^{Footnote 4}