‘No evidence that general public at increased risk from tuberculosis,’ says Tłı̨chǫ Government

The Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency is trying to counter online misinformation and a misunderstanding of the term “tuberculosis outbreak” used by the Office of the Chief Public Health, after two cases were recently confirmed in Behchokǫ̀.

In an online post, the Agency stated there is currently no evidence that the general public is at increased risk from tuberculosis in the Tłı̨chǫ region’s largest community.

“We know community members are hearing different information and may have questions about recent TB cases,” stated the Agency.

“We understand that news of two TB cases in Behchokǫ̀ has caused concern for many families.”

The NWT’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola told CBC North that the situation in Behchokǫ̀ is considered a tuberculosis outbreak because one case is linked to the other.

“Other jurisdictions can have other definitions,” she told CBC, “but, just having one case linked to another is our definition.”

Kandola said there have been seven TB cases in the NWT in the past two years, connected to three outbreaks.

Concerns are valid over the infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium bacteria, as Indigenous communities across Canada as the federal government notes rates of active TB are disproportionately higher among First Nations, Inuit and Métis people.

From 2012 to 2016, for example, the NWT had twice the Canadian average of TB cases.

The Tłı̨chǫ Agency stated that public health is “actively responding and following established procedures to identify and contact anyone who may require testing or follow-up.”

Also:

• If you have not been contacted, there is currently no indication that you have been exposed to someone with active TB disease.
• Schools and other public places where people regularly gather have not been identified as places of exposure to anyone with TB.
• Therefore, schools remain safe places for children to learn, and there is no recommendation from public health to keep children home because of these cases.
• We encourage residents to rely on information shared by the NWT Health and Social Services Authority, Tłı̨chǫ public health, and health-care providers as the investigation continues.
• Residents with have symptoms of TB can call the health center to talk to a nurse.
• Residents who have questions about TB can call 811 to speak with a registered nurse and receive health information and advice.

NWT Health and Social Services, on behalf of Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency CEO Kevin Armstrong, told CBC that tuberculosis “does not spread through brief or casual contact, such as shopping, attending community events or passing someone in a hallway.”

“The people most at risk from exposure to TB are those who have had close, ongoing contact with someone who has active TB disease and is sick and coughing,” Armstrong wrote.

Symptoms may include cough lasting weeks, fever, chest pain and weight loss.

TB infection is easily curable with antibiotics.

Behchokǫ̀’s housing shortage and communicable disease:

In 2021, when Behchokǫ̀ Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe was legal counsel for the Tłı̨chǫ Government, she appeared before the Federal Finance Committee and blamed the spread of diseases such as TB on disproportionately higher rates of overcrowding due to the ongoing housing crisis:

“Tłı̨chǫ citizens also face disproportionately higher rates of overcrowding. Twenty per cent of Tlicho families live in overcrowded conditions. There are very serious health implications to these housing gaps. Even before COVID-19, researchers were sounding the alarm on the impact of overcrowding in Tłı̨chǫ homes. While tuberculosis was all but eradicated in most of Canada, as of 2018 the Tłı̨chǫ community of Behchokǫ̀ had more cases of tuberculosis than all the other communities of the entire NWT combined. This should come as no surprise.”

From the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer:

TB is a bacterial disease that affects mainly the lungs and can be transmitted through air particles.  Many factors are considered when determining if an exposure to TB is significant. TB is a slow-growing bacteria and takes a long time to develop from infection (usually no symptoms) to disease (cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss, chest pain, bloody sputum).

Most people exposed to someone with TB NEVER get infected or go on to develop disease. However, a small proportion of the exposed may be more susceptible to infection and developing TB disease than others. Examples:

• People who have weakened immune systems;
• Those who are very young (usually children under five); or
• The elderly, who are most at risk for infection and progression to disease.

If you are identified as a potential contact, do not panic. Public health staff will talk with you about your exposure and determine your risk for infection.

If you have a positive TB test and are infected with the TB bacteria, this does NOT mean you have TB. This just means that you have a TB infection.