Tuberculosis outbreak declared in Arviat

Nunavut’s Health Department is responding to a tuberculosis outbreak in Arviat with “targeted” screenings involving vulnerable residents.

The department announced the outbreak Tuesday in a news release.

In January, some residents became very sick from TB, said Dr. Ekua Agyemang, the territory’s chief public health officer, in an interview.

“What was concerning was that we couldn’t find linkages to households or other places, or we couldn’t identify them as a past sleeping [latent] TB case,” she said.

Agyemang said the Health Department is still investigating the exact number of cases. She said the current number is “relatively low,” and that TB has been known to be in Arviat for more than 20 years.

The declaration of this outbreak was decided after a meeting with hamlet officials, she said.

When Arviat Mayor Joe Savikataaq Jr. learned an outbreak had been declared, he wasn’t surprised.

“We’ve known all along that there is TB amongst us here in Arviat,” Savikataaq said in an interview.

“It’s been a few years that we’ve been requesting to have a community-wide screening that they are doing in the other parts of the territory.”

Savikataaq is welcoming the Department of Health’s targeted screening approach to address the outbreak.

That process, Agyemang said, will prioritize screening close contacts and members of the same household of people who tested positive, as well as high-risk individuals with compromised immune systems and other pre-existing conditions.

Eventually it will expand to screening children, young adults and seniors.

This screening process is different from the six to 12-week blitzes the Health Department has conducted in communities such as Pangnirtung.

“The aim is that over a period of about 12 months, everyone in Arviat will have the opportunity to know their TB status,” Agyemang said.

“It is a stepwise approach over a long period of time — so, a marathon compared to the sprints that we’ve had in the past.”

TB is primarily spread through prolonged exposure in confined spaces, according to the Department of Health. Symptoms may include a cough lasting more than three weeks, fatigue, loss of appetite, and a fever.

The disease is treatable through medication.

Savikataaq said Arviat will overcome this outbreak like other challenges the community has faced. He assured residents there are no public health restrictions like the ones Arviat experienced during its COVID-19 emergency.

“There’s no need for panic,” he said.

“[You] just have to listen to what they are asking for in terms of testing.”

Arviat is the fourth Nunavut community currently navigating a TB outbreak.

Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet and Naujaat are the others, Agyemang said, and most of the people who have had TB in those hamlets have been treated or are still completing treatment.

“Residents are encouraged to stay informed and follow public health advice and reach out to [the] health centre with any questions or concerns,” Agyemang said.