Nunavut had 59 TB cases in 2009: Curley

Nunavut’s Department of Health and Social Services is committed to preventing the spread of tuberculosis and providing treatment and support for those infected with the disease, Health Minister Tagak Curley told the legislature March 23.

Curley, speaking one day before World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, noted 54 cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in Nunavut in 2009 and that 13 had been diagnosed in 2010 by Feb. 16.

Nearly all Nunavummiut complete TB treatment, compared to 92 per cent nationally, Curley said.

Nunavut also exceeds the national TB performance standards, Curley said, with drug resistance and relapse rates that are both lower than two per cent.

The best way to lower rates of TB is to ensure that people know what the symptoms are and get tested as soon as they appear, Curley said.

“It’s the only way to prevent the spread to family and friends,” he said, adding that inadequate housing and poor nutrition also lead to the spread of infectious diseases, such as TB.

“To fully combat the continued existence of tuberculosis in Nunavut, we must work together to improve living conditions for Nunavummiut.

A pre-released draft report by the Public Health Agency of Canada found that in 2008, the rate of tuberculosis infection among Inuit was 157 per 100,000 people.
That’s 32 times the national average and 185 times the infection rate among non-aboriginal, non-immigrant Canadians, the group with the lowest rate of TB infection.

Nunavut has by far the highest TB rates in Canada, six times that of the runner-up, the Northwest Territories, and 38 times higher than the national average between 1998 and 2008.