Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections surveillance

On this page

• STBBI surveillance in Canada
• How national STBBI surveillance works
• STBBI Field Surveillance program
• STBBI surveillance resources and publications
  • Antimicrobial-resistant gonorrhea
  • Chlamydia and gonorrhea
  • Syphilis
  • Hepatitis B and C
  • HIV
  • Enhanced surveillance of hepatitis C and HIV
  • COVID-19 Impact on STBBI-related services including harm reduction
• Reporting on Canada's progress towards STBBI elimination
  • Hepatitis C
  • HIV
  • HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
• Archived publications
• Other surveillance resources
• Other STBBI resources

STBBI surveillance in Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) conducts routine surveillance of the following nationally notifiable sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI):

• Chlamydia
• Gonorrhea
• Syphilis
• Hepatitis B and hepatitis C
• HIV

In addition, through other surveillance means, PHAC further monitors:

• Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• Trends in the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C and associated risk factors in key populations

Canada has endorsed the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Global Health Sector Strategies for HIV, Hepatitis and STIs Programmes. The strategies include global targets to generate momentum towards the elimination of STBBIs as a public health threat by 2030. Reporting on these targets supports a pan-Canadian multi-sectoral response that informs the effectiveness of current STBBI public health strategies in Canada, and guide prevention and care activities. PHAC works with provinces, territories, research institutions, clinicians and other government departments to report on Canada's progress towards meeting these global STBBI elimination targets.

National estimates of Hepatitis C and HIV

Current estimates focus on:

• Hepatitis C estimates
• HIV estimates
• HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis estimates

Estimating hepatitis C and HIV prevalence (the number of people living with hepatitis C or HIV - both diagnosed and undiagnosed) is critical for guiding the planning and investment of treatment, care and auxiliary support for people living with and affected by hepatitis C, HIV and AIDS. Understanding disease incidence (the number of new infections occurring in a population over a specific time period) is fundamental for understanding temporal changes in transmission patterns and is useful for public health professionals to monitor, strengthen, and evaluate the impact of public health actions. National estimates of hepatitis C and HIV incidence and prevalence are calculated using statistical modelling methods informed by provincial and territorial surveillance data.

In addition to hepatitis C and HIV estimates, PHAC also monitors the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent new HIV infections. Given the effectiveness of PrEP and the goal of increasing access to combination prevention for key populations, it is important to measure and report on its uptake in Canada. Increasing our understanding of trends in PrEP utilization will help to inform planning for HIV prevention programs and policies, helping Canada meet its elimination targets.

How national STBBI surveillance works

Routine surveillance

Data for routine surveillance comes from the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System and reporting from provinces and territories. Routine STBBI surveillance data typically includes the number of newly reported infections over a given period, as well as basic epidemiologic data such as age, residing province or territory, and sex.

Enhanced surveillance

PHAC participates in a number of enhanced surveillance programs in which more detailed population specific data is collected. This data is beyond that of routine surveillance and can include factors such as clinical and treatment data, risk behaviours, and social determinants of health indicators (for example, ethnicity, housing status and level of educations).

PHAC coordinates the Tracks Enhanced Surveillance System in collaboration with the provinces and territories, as well as regional and local public health partners. The Tracks surveillance system consists of a network of locations across Canada (called Sentinel Sites), where data are collected to monitor trends in the prevalence of hepatitis C and HIV, and associated risk factors in populations disproportionately affected by these STBBI.

Additionally, PHAC collects enhanced surveillance data from the provinces and territories to better understand trends in antimicrobial resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, HIV and infectious syphilis.

Finally, PHAC supplements routine and enhanced surveillance data with statistical modelling and finding from the published literature.

STBBI Field Surveillance program

The STBBI Field Surveillance Program was established in 2000 to enhance the national surveillance of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted infections. It is a unique field service program with permanent federal employees placed in provincial public health authorities across Canada.

The Field Surveillance Officers (FSO) provide daily epidemiological support to provinces on joint federal and provincial STBBI surveillance and epidemiology initiatives. Specifically, field surveillance activities include:

• Providing annual provincial STBBI surveillance data
• Supplying provincial estimates for assessing Canada's progress towards STBBI elimination targets
• Providing a liaison function for the Agency through established long-standing relationships with provincial counterparts
• Leading or taking part in provincial STBBI surveillance activities that monitor at-risk and key populations and barriers to service access

More information can be found in the Spotlight on the STBBI Field Surveillance Program.

STBBI surveillance resources and publications

Use the links below for PHAC surveillance products and publications in each area, including reports, infographics and other resources.

Case definitions are accessible from Notifiable Diseases Online.

Archived publications

For previously available publications, please contact: ccdic-siimd@phac-aspc.gc.ca

Other surveillance resources

• Public health surveillance
• Blood safety contribution program
• The Global Health Observatory: HIV/AIDS (World Health Organization)

Other STBBI resources

• Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections: Guides for health professionals
• Chlamydia: its causes, symptoms, risks, and prevention
• Gonorrhea: its causes, symptoms, risks, and prevention
• Syphilis: its causes, symptoms, risks, treatment, and prevention
• Hepatitis C: its causes, symptoms, risks, treatment, and prevention
• Communicable Diseases and Infection Control Newsletter