Chlamydia, gonorrhea and infectious syphilis in Canada, 2018: Infographic

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

Chlamydia

Trends in chlamydia by age and sex, 2009 to 2018

• There were 117,008 cases of chlamydia in 2018.
• Between 2009 and 2018, there was a 40% increase in the rate of reported cases of chlamydia.

Table 1. Proportion of cases per age group (2018)

Age group	Proportion of cases (%)
15-29	76.2%
30-59	23.3%
60+	0.5%

• 59.6% of chlamydia cases are reported among women.
• Rates have increased by 67.6% among men since 2009.

Rates of reported chlamydia cases per 100,000 population

• The Canadian rate of chlamydia for 2018 was 363.2 per 100,000 people.
• In 2018, rates of chlamydia below the national rate were reported in Nova Scotia (340.0), Quebec (337.9), Ontario (332.5), New Brunswick (282.9), Prince Edward Island (267.6) and Newfoundland and Labrador (183.5).
• In 2018, rates of chlamydia above the national rate were reported in Alberta (402.0), Manitoba (546.3), Saskatchewan (552.7), Yukon (699.8), Northwest Territories (1,747.1) and Nunavut (3,965.9).

Gonorrhea

Trends in gonorrhea by age and sex, 2009 to 2018

• There were 30,874 cases of gonorrhea in 2018.
• Between 2009 and 2018, there was a 190% increase in the rate of reported cases of gonorrhea.

Table 2. Proportion of cases per age group (2018)

Age group	Proportion of cases (%)
15-29	56.2%
30-59	42.1%
60+	1.7%

• 64.6% of gonorrhea cases are reported among men.
• Rates have increased by 241.9% among men since 2009.

Rates of reported gonorrhea cases per 100,000 population (2018)

• The Canadian rate of gonorrhea for 2017 was 95.8 per 100,000 population.
• In 2018, rates of gonorrhea below the national rate were reported in Quebec (89.7), Ontario (72.4), Yukon (71.5), Nova Scotia (32.0), Newfoundland and Labrador (13.9), New Brunswick (12.3) and Prince Edward Island (8.4).
• In 2018, rates of gonorrhea above the national rate were reported in Alberta (115.9), Saskatchewan (220.8), Manitoba (265.0), Northwest Territories (1,027.3) and Nunavut (1,911.1).

Infectious syphilis

Trends in infectious syphilis by age and sex, 2009 to 2018

• There were 6,281 cases of infectious syphilis in 2018.
• Between 2009 and 2018, there was a 259% increase in the rate of reported cases of infectious syphilis.

Table 3. Proportion of cases per age group (2018)

Age group	Proportion of cases (%)
15-29	36.2%
30-59	59.2%
60+	4.6%

• 78.9% of infectious syphilis cases are reported among men.
• Rates have increased by 648.3% among women since 2009

Rates of reported infectious syphilis cases per 100,000 population (2018)

• The Canadian rate of infectious syphilis for 2018 was 16.9 per 100,000 population.
• In 2018, rates of infectious syphilis at or below the national rate were reported in British Columbia (15.2), Ontario (13.2), Saskatchewan (12.1), Quebec (11.1), Newfoundland and Labrador (7.2), Yukon (4.9), Nova Scotia (3.3), New Brunswick (2.7) and Prince Edward Island (2.6).
• In 2018, rates of infectious syphilis above the national rate were reported in Northwest Territories (24.5), Alberta (35.7), Manitoba (57.9) and Nunavut (263.7).

Note: Chlamydia and gonorrhea data for British Columbia were not available for the year 2018.

For more information, please visit Notifiable Diseases Online and the 2018 Report on sexually transmitted infections in Canada.