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Octavius Hite
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Location: Househunting, looking for a new bunker from which to convert the world to homosexuality.
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 Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:26 pm Post subject: Rise in Alberta syphilis cases shows a down side of boom |
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For all those who think Alberta is soooo great (and yes I'm being sarcastic):
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070310.SYPHILIS10/TPStory/National
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EDMONTON -- Booming Alberta has become a magnet for many things, including now the age-old scourge of syphilis.
"In my mind, there is no question that what is happening with the economy is contributing to this," said Ameeta Singh, an infectious diseases medical consultant with Alberta Health.
The provincial government is so concerned about the rise in reported syphilis cases that it is launching a public-awareness campaign that will begin with television and newspaper ads this month about the curable sexually transmitted infection.
Currently, the incidence of syphilis in Alberta is slightly higher than the national average -- there are 5.8 cases per 100,000 people in Alberta compared with 5.1 cases per 100,000 people in Canada.
In 2006, there were 202 confirmed cases in Alberta, up from 143 in 2005. In 1995, there were four syphilis cases provincewide.
Dr. Singh said while many communities across Canada are struggling with rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases, the provincial government was prompted to act because syphilis is spreading quickly and is being found outside Alberta's two largest centres, Edmonton and Calgary, in places such as Fort McMurray.
That community has grown dramatically in recent years and has attracted workers from all over the world to jobs that pay well at its massive oil-sands projects.
"People have a lot more expendable income. There is more drug- and alcohol-abuse going on. And there is more exchange of sex for a variety of things such as drugs and alcohol," Dr. Singh explained.
She said the infection is also being diagnosed in segments of the population not usually affected, such as postsecondary students, professionals and the elderly.
The government is increasingly alarmed by the number of babies with congenital syphilis -- in which the disease is passed from a mother to her baby in the womb, Dr. Singh added.
While the province tests pregnant women for the infection, nine babies have been born with syphilis during the past two years.
"In a developed country where we have universal access to health care, we shouldn't have this," she said.
Syphilis, which can be detected with a blood test, can be spread during unprotected oral, anal and vaginal sex.
The disease is curable, but its effects can worsen over time if it goes untreated.
The infection causes highly contagious sores and rashes; however, it is sometimes difficult to detect. In serious cases, syphilis can cause long-term damage to the heart, brain and bones and lead to blindness and paralysis.
"Some people aren't even aware it's out there," said Tracey Welsh, an Alberta Health spokeswoman. |
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jinju
Joined: 22 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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| too much gay sex? |
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Octavius Hite
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Location: Househunting, looking for a new bunker from which to convert the world to homosexuality.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Keep digging your bunker Jinju. |
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riverboy
Joined: 03 Jun 2003
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| No. Too many uncircumsised males having sex. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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The social/public health situation in parts of Alberta isn't very good right now. The oil patch gives young men an income in excess of 100k/year and 5 days every 3 weeks to spend it. What does a 20 year old dude do with 10k in 5 days? They pay their truck payments, insurance, rent and then blow the rest. For those familiar with Wetaskawin and the way some Natives behave when they get their treaty money, well, Ft. Mac is like that year round.
Last I was in Edmonton, in November, Whyte Ave was a miserable shiittehole. Violent, abrasive, cultureless and overwhelmingly dominated by young, wealthy and extremely drunk males. I used to love Whyte...
Booze, prostitutes and coke are the norm in Ft. Mac and Edmonton now. Even in my sleepy hometown, I have been reading in the paper that hookers are being caught. This is unheard of.
The wealth has caused major changes, and the culture needs to adapt. STD's will be one aspect of this. Substance abuse will be another. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Last I was in Edmonton, in November, Whyte Ave was a miserable shiittehole. Violent, abrasive, cultureless and overwhelmingly dominated by young, wealthy and extremely drunk males. I used to love Whyte... |
My last year living in Edmonton was 2001, the year of the Canada Day riots on Whyte Avenue. At the time, Whyte Avenue afficianadoes tried to blame it all on some Molson's party that was held accross the river, saying that all these drunks had crossed the high-level bridge to wreak havoc on Whyte. Suffice to say I thought that the people making this argument were in denial about what sort of clientele Whyte Avenue had been attracting for some time.
The basic sociology of it is that Whyte is the place where wannabe-tough suburban boys go to strut their stuff and look menacing, because they know it's still basically a campus zone, where they can be the proverbial big fish in the small pond. Of course, it they tried pulling the same crap downtown on 96th street, they'd get their teeth knocked out in seconds flat. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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I rather liked it there when I was in uni (97-2002). Never had a problem, but it was quite redneck. Now, it is a joke.
And the pigs are likely the worst offenders. The EPS is a thuggish army of lowlife rig-rejects. |
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riverboy
Joined: 03 Jun 2003
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| Drugs have been there a lot longer than the past few years. I started working in the Olipatch in 1989 and the drug scene was fully immersed back then. I worled with quite a few old hands, and they told me about the drugs when they started. Drugs have always been a part of the patch and will continue to be. I know guys who would travel out west in the early 90 with a pound of weed and follow seismic crews around the province selling them pot. Some guys would make 40 000 grand in a winter. |
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