In 2022, the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health (KFL&A PH) region saw a sharp increase in syphilis cases. Local infection rates had more than doubled the provincial average, and reports of congenital syphilis, where the infection is passed from parent to baby, were on the rise.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It can cause serious health complications if left untreated, but it is easily cured with antibiotics, usually a single dose of penicillin. Many people who are infected do not experience obvious symptoms, and without testing, infections can go undetected and continue to spread.
In response to the outbreak, a regional steering committee was formed, bringing together clinicians, academics, public health practitioners, and front-line health care workers. To support this effort, Queen鈥檚 University researcher Dr. Sahar Saeed (Public Health Sciences) and Dr. Megan Carter (KFL&A PH) co-led a multidisciplinary Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded study called (Syphilis Point-of-care Rapid testing and Immediate Treatment Evaluation). The team also included Dr. Felicia Magpantay (Mathematics and Statistics) and former PhD student Sicheng Zhao (Mathematics and Statistics). Their work, alongside that of other team members, contributed to the study鈥檚 findings, which were published in .