Manitoba's tuberculosis rate double the national average: WRHA

Manitoba continues to experience the highest rate of tuberculosis among Canadian provinces, but health officials say that number could be brought down dramatically by addressing root causes of the infectious disease.

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority medical officer of health Dr. Pierre Plourde said our province sees on average about 200 cases of TB a year, which is double the average rate in all of Canada.

According to the World Health Organization, TB is the world's second deadliest infectious disease, following COVID-19. It is caused by bacteria that typically affects the lungs. The germs are mostly spread from person to person in the air, like when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Health officials say the disease can easily be mistaken for other respiratory or bacterial diseases, as coughing is a common symptom.

A tip off that it is TB and not influenza or COVID - the cough often comes with fever, severe night sweats or unexplained weight loss. The cough can also persist for weeks.

“When you see those other symptoms, it's a trigger for paying more attention to it,” Dr. Plourde said in an interview on CTV Morning Live Winnipeg on Friday.

He said the disease is treatable with antibiotics over many months, but it can be more challenging the more developed the disease is.

According to Plourde, cases are disproportionately high in northern areas of the province, where the rates are 10 times the Canadian average.

He said this is mostly due to socioeconomic conditions and not a lack of health care.

“In the north where TB spreads like wildfire, it’s primarily the poor housing,” he said.

“When you've got 25 people living in a three-bedroom bungalow where there should only be maybe five or six people in that setting, TB just spreads very easily.”

Still, he said progress has been made. TB rates in the north have seen steady decreases in recent years.

Plourde said drastic progress is unlikely without addressing issues of marginalization, like poverty and the living conditions associated with it.

“That's what's going to bring us to the elimination of TB in the province.”

- With files from CTV's Ainsley McPhail and the Associated Press