Inuit TB rate doubles to 185 times the rate of Canadian-born non-aboriginals; First Nations rate 31 times higher

March 10, 2010 – Ottawa, Ontario – The tuberculosis rate among Inuit has doubled in the past four years – to 185 times the rate of Canadian-born non-aboriginals – at a time when the national rate is declining, according to 2008 figures recently made public by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

This compares with an Inuit rate 90 times higher than the non-aboriginal, Canadian-born population as recently as 2004. The rate among First Nations is also climbing, from 29 times the non-aboriginal, Canadian-born rate in 2004 to a rate now 31 times higher.

“Behind the high results,” said Gail Turner, chair of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s National Inuit Committee on Health, “are significant disparities in the health of Inuit and other Canadians and inequity in access to health care. It is unconscionable that these conditions exist in a country that boasts of having one of the lowest TB rates in the world.”

The root causes of these elevated rates lie partly in historically high exposure during TB waves in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Aboriginal peoples lacked a natural resistance and the burden of disease was high.

Many were removed from their communities and sent to urban centres for treatment. Some never returned, creating a legacy of fear among those left behind that endures to this day. Add to that co-morbidities, such as HIV and diabetes, which increase the risk that significant occurrences of latent TB will progress to full-blown tuberculosis.

“Overcrowded housing, poor nutrition and lack of access to health care contribute to the higher rates of this disease among First Nations – many of the same conditions that made First Nations communities especially vulnerable to the spread of H1N1 last year,” said Chief Angus Toulouse, who holds the national portfolio for health at the Assembly of First Nations. “Addressing these issues will require First Nations-led economic solutions, expanded access to treatment and improved tracking of cases and underlying causes.”

In the Arctic and in many First Nations communities, housing is a major contributor. Often entire families are forced to live in a single bedroom, while mold is rampant in houses built to construction standards that are ill suited for the climate. Immune systems are compromised by a general lack of healthy, affordable food.

A shortage of health care providers in remote communities further challenges the ability to manage TB and be proactive in elimination strategies.

“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.

“It is imperative that a separate strategy be created now for Inuit, one that is created with Inuit and embraces solutions that are culturally acceptable and based on our realities. 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.”

Contact:

Patricia D’Souza
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
613/292-4482; dsouza@itk.ca

Karyn Pugliese
Acting Communications Director
Assembly of First Nations
613/292-1877; kpugliese@afn.ca