Sexually transmitted infections in British Columbia: An update

Sexually transmitted infections remain a public health concern in BC. Rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia have been increasing over the past decade. Similarly, the incidence of syphilis in BC has been increasing, particularly in men who have sex with men, but also in women aged 15 to 49 years. This rise has prompted new recommendations to repeat syphilis testing in pregnancy around the time of delivery, in addition to routine syphilis screening in the first trimester. In contrast, the rate of HIV diagnosis in BC has been declining. This has occurred as more individuals at high risk for HIV acquisition have been enrolled in the pre- exposure prophylaxis program and more HIV-infected patients maintain undetectable viral loads, which reduces transmission. Despite the lack of incidence data on human papillomavirus infection as a nonreportable sexually transmitted infection, the rate of human papillomavirus-associated complications, namely anogenital warts and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, has been declining in BC since the introduction of human papillomavirus vaccination programs.