Gonorrhea Rates Are Spiking in Canada's Yukon Territory

Read: A Drug-Resistant 'Super Gonorrhea' Is Spreading Through the North of England

Rates of gonorrhea, the STI that sometimes makes it burn when you pee, are spiking in Canada's Yukon territory.

There have been about 90 confirmed cases of the bacterial infection this year—double the rate from last year and a ninefold increase from 2013, according to Brendan Hanley, Yukon's chief medical officer of health.

While that number may not sound like a lot, Hanley said without testing "we start to see a potential acceleration of transmission."

Gonorrhea is a fairly common STI amongst young people that is passed on through oral, anal, and vaginal sex. Many people don't show symptoms, but those who do might experience a burning sensation when peeing and, in women, unusual discharge. If untreated, the infection can make both men and women sterile and increase the risk of contracting HIVHIV.

In Ontario, gonorrhea made a big comeback in 2014, with 5,825 reported cases, up 42 percent from 2012. In one part of the province, the trend was blamed in part on online hook-up apps like Tinder.

A bigger problem could be that increasingly strains gonorrhea are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Hanley encouraged young people to get tested for STIs regularly, even in the absence of symptoms.

The conventional wisdom for not getting infected hasn't changed—don't be an idiot, use a condom when you have sex.

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