Canada: "Safe Sex" Fatigue Cited for Increased Disease Rate

Fatigue over safe sex messages is contributing to an aggressive comeback of STDs in Toronto. Health officials report a spike in syphilis rates in the past year, particularly among men who have sex with men, as well as smaller increases of chlamydia and gonorrhea rates. "It's something that we're seeing, particularly in the gay and bisexual community, with having all these messages for the past 20 years about using condoms and reducing risk, I think people get tired of that at times. It's a hard behavior to sustain," said Dr. Rita Shahin, acting director of communicable diseases for Toronto Public Health.

Last year, Toronto's board of health reported 279 people infected with syphilis, the highest number of cases in more than 12 years. In 2002, that number was 195 and in 2001, only 31 people were diagnosed with syphilis.

More than a third of people newly infected are coinfected with HIV, making the blood test to diagnose syphilis harder to read and allowing the disease to progress more rapidly. Symptoms of the disease, such as damage to the eyes or brain, that typically show up in untreated patients 30 years later are showing up within a few months in HIV patients, said Shahin.

About 85 percent of those who got syphilis last year believe they contracted it through sex without a condom. An AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) survey found that some men decline to use condoms because of substance abuse problems, relationship breakdowns, or feeling as though they cannot demand safe sex from partners. Public health, along with ACT and Hassle Free Clinic, continue an education campaign -- modeled after a UK program -- urging people at risk to get tested for syphilis. Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa are also using a similar campaign to reduce infection rates.

Back to other news for February 25, 2004