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
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.