Canadians Should Not Be Complacent In The Battle Against TB - One Of The World's Most Deadly Diseases, Cautions The Lung Association

Main Category: Tuberculosis
Also Included In: Respiratory / Asthma;  Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 26 Mar 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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On World TB Day, The Lung Association cautions Canadians not to be complacent about tuberculosis (TB). Although TB rates in Canada are low, this infectious and deadly disease has not yet been completely eradicated.

TB is preventable, curable and treatable. However, there were almost 9 million new cases of TB reported globally in 2005. The emergence of new strains of drug-resistant TB have threatened prevention and control efforts.

In Canada, about 1,600 new and relapsed cases have been reported annually since 2003. Certain population groups in Canada are more affected by TB. They include: people born in countries with a high incidence of TB; Aboriginal peoples; people with HIV; and those who have spent time in a correctional facility (jail)1.

The latest TB statistics from the Public Health Agency of Canada show that people born in foreign countries accounted for two-thirds (66 per cent) of reported TB cases in 2007. Canadian-born non-Aboriginal and Canadian-born Aboriginal cases made up 11% and 20%, respectively.

Since its founding in 1900, The Lung Association has been devoted to combating and controlling TB. In fact, the Association's original name was The Canadian Association for the Prevention of Consumption and other Forms of Tuberculosis.

The Association's work on TB continues today. Together with federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as health professional organizations, the Association is working to reduce the incidence rate of TB in Canada from 5.0 per 100,000 in 2006 to 3.6 per 100,000 by 2015.

Internationally, The Lung Association's work in Ecuador has been recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the most successful initiatives to control TB in the region. The Association coordinated the development of the first known Directly Observed Treatment (DOTS) Implementation Guidelines for Hospitals in Ecuador. Thanks to this work, Ecuador will become a model for implementing this treatment program in hospital settings in South America.

Together with its medical society, The Canadian Thoracic Society, The Lung Association co-publishes the Canadian Tuberculosis Standards with the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Canadian Lung Association is also the secretariat for Stop TB Canada, an initiative that is part of a global movement to accelerate social and political action to stop the unnecessary spread of tuberculosis around the world.

1 Public Health Agency of Canada, 2007 Pre-release, Tuberculosis in Canada, 2007. See here.

Source
The Lung Association

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