No STI outbreak in Fort St. John: Northern Health

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health has confirmed there are no declared outbreaks of illnesses, including sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Fort St. John.

The clarification comes in after an anonymous user posted claiming there was a chlamydia outbreak at the high school in a local Facebook group Sunday evening. The post has since been removed.

Energeticcity.ca contacted School District 60 for comment on the claims but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Eryn Collins with Northern Health says Public Health constantly monitors infectious disease activity and trends, provincially and regionally.

This monitoring includes cases of STIs such as chlamydia and syphilis.

“Unfortunately, many of those trends have been on the rise in recent years, highlighting the importance of prevention, testing and treatment,” Collins wrote in an email.

Recently, Northeast B.C. has seen a rise in syphilis cases specifically, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Collins says outbreaks of infectious diseases need to be declared by a medical health officer and are based on various factors, including but not limited to the type of illness, the severity of the illness, and the measures effective in stopping the illness’s spread.

Sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis and chlamydia are treatable, but if left untreated, they can lead to other health complications.

Northern Health encourages anyone who is sexually active to lower their chances of getting or passing an STI by getting tested and using condoms.

STI testing is available on Tuesday afternoons by appointment only at the Fort St. John Health Unit at 10115 110th Avenue. The phone number is 250-263-6000.

More information can be found on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website, Smart Sex Resource.