Abstract
Congenital syphilis has risen significantly in recent years, from 4 cases in 2016 to 50 cases in 2020; a rate increase of 2.5 cases per 100,000 population to 39.7 cases per 100,000. 1 These cases have risen in parallel to an epidemic of infectious syphilis among women aged 15-35 years.2 In Alberta, infectious syphilis has dramatically increased from a rate of 3.9 per 100,000 population in 2014 to 72.2 per 100,000 in 2021.3 As a result of this increase, nearly 200 infants were diagnosed with congenital syphilis between 2016 and 2021, including 39 stillbirths.3 In an effort to address the syphilis outbreak, Alberta Health Services implemented a Best Practice Advisory within their new clinical information system, Connect Care, to screen pregnant women presenting to emergency departments without a history of adequate prenatal syphilis screening. One of the main aspects of my practicum at the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases involved describing Alberta鈥檚 syphilis Best Practice Advisory in Connect Care as an example of an evidence-based, promising practice for public health practitioners. The other main aspect of my work involved writing a congenital syphilis Disease Debrief to provide public health personnel and policy-makers with a quick reference to congenital syphilis and to encourage practitioners to test for syphilis among pregnant individuals at risk of infection.