The National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) has published the Portrait of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) in Quebec, for the year 2022 including 2023 projections – see the rapport.
According to the report, for 2022 and 2023 (based on projections for 2023), there was a significant increase in the incidence rates of reported cases of: gonococcal infection, infectious syphilis, congenital syphilis and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). In 2023, the rate of reported cases of hepatitis B and C also increased (particularly the rate of hepatitis C cases in the Montreal region). The hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses are still present, which justifies continuing prevention and intervention efforts.
Some data concerning STIs that must be declared for 2022:
- Chlamydia trachomatis : represents the most common infection with 25,339 reported cases and an overall rate of 291 cases per 100,000 people (rate of 241 per 100,000 in men and 339 per 100,000 in women). Female cases represent 58% of cases. After around twenty years of constant increase, the incidence fell by 16% between 2019 and 2021. It then increased by 11% between 2021 and 2022.
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae : 8,112 cases were reported for an overall rate of 93 cases per 100,000 people (rate of 141 per 100,000 for men and 44 per 100,000 for women). Men accounted for 75% of cases. The incidence of reported cases increased by 21% between 2021 and 2022. The projected rate for 2023 would be the highest observed since 1990. The incidence rates of reported cases in the Nunavik region and the Montreal region were respectively 20 times and 2.4 times higher than that of Quebec as a whole.
- Infectious syphilis: A total of 1258 cases were reported. The overall rate of reported cases was 14 cases per 100,000 population (24 per 100,000 in males and 4.6 per 100,000 in females). Of these, 25% were primary syphilis, 23% were secondary syphilis, and 52% were early latent syphilis. In Quebec, 14 cases of congenital syphilis (all cases of early congenital syphilis detected in infants under 2 years of age) have been reported, representing a rate of 0.8 cases per 100,000 women aged 15 to 49 and 17 per 100,000 live births (8.5 per 100,000 infants under 2 years of age). The rate of infectious syphilis cases has been increasing for 25 years, according to the report. In addition, the syphilis epidemic is increasingly taking hold in the heterosexual population and is growing in most regions, whereas it was initially concentrated in the Montreal region.
- LGV: 145 male cases have been reported, which corresponds to a rate of 3.3 cases per 100,000 men. One probable female case has been reported. LGV primarily affects the HARSAH (men who have sex with men) population.
- Hepatitis B (HBV): A total of 897 cases of hepatitis B have been reported, equivalent to a rate of 10.3 cases per 100,000 population (12 per 100,000 in men and 8.8 per 100,000 in women). Men account for 57% of all reported cases.
- Hepatitis C (HCV): A total of 742 cases of hepatitis C were reported in 2022, equivalent to a rate of 8.5 cases per 100,000 people (10.5 per 100,000 in men and 6.5 per 100,000 in women).
- HIV: A total of 917 cases of HIV infection were recorded in 2022 (for more details, see the annual HIV surveillance report for the year 2022 for Quebec).
To view the INSPQ report and learn more, click on this lien.
