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Tuberculosis Strikes Hard Among Canada's Inuit
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Abstract
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| From 2004 to 2008, TB rates among Canada’s Inuit increased from 80.4 cases per 100,000 people to 157.5, even as TB prevalence declined in the general population, an Inuit advocacy group said Wednesday. New TB cases among Canada’s Inuit, who number 50,000, doubled during the period, from 41 to 88, according to federal surveillance data cited by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK).
Aggravating factors include the vast, desolate remoteness of Canada’s far north. Only one hospital serves all 26 communities in the Nunavut territory, which is about the size of France or Texas. It also lacks enough staff coverage, said Gail Turner of ITK.
“In Nunatsiavut, where I live, Inuit must fly to Goose Bay to receive a chest X-ray,” said Turner. “Recently, that meant a group of patients was stranded for 15 days because of weather.”
Poverty is exacerbated due to the high price of imported foods, while local hunting has been made more dangerous by the disappearing ice cover. Entire extended families sometimes live in single-room houses - ideal conditions for TB transmission.
These unique community characteristics make TB diagnosis and control difficult, said Turner. “Tuberculosis is challenging because there’s a perception that it’s gone,” she said.
“It is imperative that a separate strategy be created now for Inuit,” Turner said. “TB will never be eliminated until housing is improved, food security is improved, and access to health care for Inuit is closer to what other Canadians take for granted.”
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Source
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| http://www.afp.com/english/home/ |
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Subjects
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Epidemiology
Tuberculosis (TB)
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cdcnpin.org News Record #54915
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