Prevalence and awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and vaccine-induced immunity to hepatitis B: Findings from the Canadian Health Measure Survey, 2016-2019.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections that Canada is committed to eliminate as public health concerns. Accurate epidemiological estimates require cross-sectional data as input. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of present HBV infection (hepatitis B surface antigen-positive) and proportion aware of their infection, the vaccine-induced HBV immunity, the prevalence of HCV antibodies (anti-HCV-positive), the prevalence of present HCV infection (RNA-positive) and proportion aware of their infection, in the household population in Canada.

National hepatitis B and C estimates for 2021: Measuring Canada's progress towards eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health concern.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Measuring the epidemiological burden of HCV and HBV in Canada is essential to measure progress towards global elimination targets and to ultimately eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health concern.

Objective: This study aimed to provide the first national estimates of HBV prevalence and unawareness, and to update estimates of HCV incidence, prevalence, and unawareness in the general population and key populations in Canada for 2021.

Estimating Chronic Hepatitis B Prevalence and Undiagnosed Proportion in Canada, 2007-2021: Mathematical Framework Development.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains a significant health burden for at least a hundred thousand Canadians. The government of Canada has endorsed the global strategy to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, but effectively targeting public health interventions is complicated by the silent nature of the disease, which can remain asymptomatic for decades.

Objective: This study develops a framework to estimate the prevalence of CHB and the proportion of the infected population that remains undiagnosed.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Antimicrobial Purchasing in Canada (2018-2021): An Exploratory Analysis.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial use in Canadian hospitals is not well characterized. We explored the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and Canadian hospital antimicrobial purchasing (AMP)-a proxy for consumption.

Methods: Hospital-level AMP data were obtained from IQVIA, a health analytics company, and matched with inpatient patient-day denominator data from 28 hospitals participating in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program.

Surveillance for Health Care-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistant Organisms and Antimicrobial use in Canadian Long-Term Care Homes: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background: Our understanding of health care-associated infection (HAI), antimicrobial resistant organism (ARO), and antimicrobial use (AMU) surveillance activities across Canadian long-term care homes (LTCHs) is limited, in part because nationwide surveillance in this setting has yet to be established.

Methods: To address this knowledge gap, the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program administered a 12-item cross-sectional survey to LTCHs across all provinces and territories in English and French. LTCHs were defined as government-licensed homes for individuals with medical needs who require 24-hour onsite access to registered nurse care and/or treatment.

Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective evidence.

This corrigendum is being published to correct a number of errors and imprecisions, on pages 113, 120-125 and 138, of the following article: Taher MK, Salzman T, Banal A, Morissette K, Domingo FR, Cheung AM, Cooper CL, Boland L, Zuckermann AM, Mullah MA, Laprise C, Colonna R, Hashi A, Rahman P, Collins E, Corrin T, Waddell LA, Pagaduan JE, Ahmad R, Jaramillo Garcia AP. Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective evidence. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can.

Brief Report: Trends of Congenital Syphilis among Neonates in Canada 2012-2023.

In Canada, incidence of congenital syphilis significantly increased from 2018 to 2023. Supporting enhanced public health preventive interventions such as early screening and treatment, particularly for younger women in lower socioeconomic strata and those with a history of addictive substance use, may reduce congenital syphilis.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities of in Canada, 2022.

Background: In Canada, gonorrhea is the second most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial infection. The Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme-Canada (GASP-Canada), a passive surveillance system monitoring antimicrobial resistance in in Canada since 1985, is the source for this summary of demographics, antimicrobial resistance and multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) of gonococcal isolates collected in Canada in 2022.

Objective: To summarize the antimicrobial resistance trends and molecular types of cultures in Canada from 2018 to 2022.

Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective evidence.

Introduction: We investigated the prevalence of new or persistent manifestations experienced by COVID-19 survivors at 3 or more months after their initial infection, collectively known as post-COVID-19 condition (PCC).

Methods: We searched four electronic databases and major grey literature resources for prospective studies, systematic reviews, authoritative reports and population surveys. A random-effects meta-analysis pooled the prevalence data of 22 symptoms and outcomes.

The rise of congenital syphilis in Canada: threats and opportunities.

Introduction: In Canada, rates of congenital syphilis have been increasing rapidly in recent years, following a surge in infectious syphilis. These trends call for a closer look at missed opportunities for testing, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of pregnant individuals. The epidemiological situation is especially serious given that effective treatment is available for syphilis during pregnancy and that congenital syphilis is a preventable outcome that engenders adverse birth outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death as well as potentially lifelong ocular, neurological, hepatosplenic, and musculoskeletal sequelae.

Rising congenital syphilis rates in Canada, 1993-2022.

Introduction: The number of cases of confirmed early congenital syphilis has risen steeply in Canada in recent years, particularly since 2018, to the highest number ever recorded since national reporting began in 1993. We analyzed national data on confirmed early congenital syphilis from 1993 to 2022 to describe epidemiologic trends in Canada during this period.

Methods: Data from 1993 to 2017 were obtained from routine surveillance conducted through the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, and data from 2018 to 2022 were obtained from enhanced surveillance conducted through a federal-provincial-territorial working group.

Acceptability, feasibility, equity and resource use for prenatal screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea: A systematic review.

Background: A systematic review on acceptability, feasibility, equity and resource use was conducted as part of updating recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada on prenatal screening for (CT) and (NG).

Methods: Information sources, including MEDLINE® All, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL (January 2003-January 2021) electronic databases were searched for studies that assessed acceptability, feasibility, equity and resource use of screening for CT or NG in pregnant persons aged ≥12 years. The Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-Randomized Studies was used for quality assessment and a narrative synthesis was prepared.

Validity of dried blood spot testing for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections: A narrative systematic review.

Testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) using dried blood spot (DBS) specimens has been an integral part of bio-behavioural surveillance in Canada for almost two decades, though less is known regarding the use of DBS in surveillance of other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI). A systematic review was conducted using a peer-reviewed search strategy to assess the current evidence regarding the validity of STBBI testing using DBS specimens. Eligibility criteria included studies reporting use of DBS specimens for STBBI testing with either commercially available or "in-house" tests in populations 15 years of age or older.

Risk of sexual transmission of HIV in the context of viral load suppression.

Background: In 2018, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) published a systematic review to calculate the risk of sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the context of antiretroviral therapy (ART). In 2022, PHAC commissioned the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) to conduct a rapid review of evidence published since 2017. We undertook a meta-analysis of relevant studies from these two reviews.

Characteristics and clinical outcomes of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) recipients in Canada, 2022: a descriptive cohort study.

Background: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (N/R) (Paxlovid) was introduced in Canada in January 2022. This was the first oral coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) antiviral therapy that was deployed on a large scale in Canada. Since N/R was a new therapeutic option to reduce severe outcomes in high-risk populations, clinical and implementation questions were raised about its real-world utilization and impact.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for COVID-19-associated severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in Canada: Analysis of data from the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program.

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for COVID-19 across Canada has not been well-described. We studied trends for patients with COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome who received ECMO.

Methods: Multicentre retrospective cohort study using data from the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program across four different waves.

Community Insights in Phylogenetic HIV Research: The CIPHR Project Protocol.

Inferring HIV transmission networks from HIV sequences is gaining popularity in the field of HIV molecular epidemiology. However, HIV sequences are often analyzed at distance from those affected by HIV epidemics, namely without the involvement of communities most affected by HIV. These remote analyses often mean that knowledge is generated in absence of lived experiences and socio-economic realities that could inform the ethical application of network-derived information in 'real world' programmes.

Retrospective Review of Prenatal Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Screening in Alberta: 2018-2022.

A retrospective 5-year province-wide evaluation of prenatal Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) screening in Alberta, Canada, was carried out to assess compliance with the provincial recommendations for universal prenatal screening as a prevention for neonatal ophthalmia. Screening generally improved across the province each year, 82.1% in 2018 and reaching 87.

Molecular epidemiology of rotavirus among children in Western Canada: Dynamic changes in genotype prevalence in four consecutive seasons.

Rotavirus molecular surveillance remains important in the postvaccine era to monitor the changes in transmission patterns, identify vaccine-induced antigenic changes and discover potentially pathogenic vaccine-related strains. The Canadian province of Alberta introduced rotavirus vaccination into its provincial vaccination schedule in June 2015. To evaluate the impact of this program on stool rotavirus positivity rate, strain diversity, and seasonal trends, we analyzed a prospective cohort of children with acute gastroenteritis recruited between December 2014 and August 2018.