TB death in Quebec's far north spurs public health awareness campaign

Public health officials in the far north of Quebec are planning to launch a tuberculosis awareness campaign, following the death of a 22-year-old Inuk man last June from the infectious disease that has all but disappeared from southern Canada.

Jimmy Baron lived inKangiqsualujjuaq, Que., the easternmost village in Quebec's Inuit territory of Nunavik, with a population of just under 1,000.

Coroner Jean Brochusaid the young mandied on June 3, 2017, after being in close contact with another person infected with TB, which affects the lungs and other organs.

In his report on Baron's death, Brochusaid Baron didn't follow the recommendations of the local health centre, "and did not show up for an appointment for a chest x-ray."

Brochu said Baron may have ignored some of the symptoms of TB, which include coughing, nighttime sweats and fatigue, because of his smoking and alcohol addiction.

The coroner alsosuggested that "many people feel marginalized when they receive a diagnosis,"and therefore don't seek treatment, which may have been the case for Baron.

Disease easily treatable but complex

Dr. Marie Rochette,the co-ordinator for infectious diseases atNunavik's public health agency, saidBaron's death came as a surprise,given that tuberculosis is easily treatable.

"It's a disease that canbe cured. We have good treatment, and it can also be prevented," she said.

Rochettesaid despite people's perceptions, it is not easily transmittable. A person has to be in close contact with an infected person for several hours at a time, but a simple social gathering is not dangerous, saidRochette.

"We saw people who don't want to talk to people with TB because they don't want to be infected," she said.

Rochettesaid she and her team are working on a communications strategy for the region, to help destigmatizeTB and encourage people to be tested and, if need be, treated.

Latent in most people

Rochette said tuberculosis resurfaced in the town of Kangiqsualujjuaqin 2012, with cases showing up in 2014 and 2015.

The real problem, she said, is that TB can be latent, or symptom-free, in many people, only progressing to become an active disease in a small number of people.

"We can have the germ in our body without knowing it, and it can develop in the two years following the infection," Rochette said.

In rarer cases, the infection can be latent for as long as30 years.

Quebec has one of the lowest rates of tuberculosis in Canada, with threecases per 100,000people.

However, the infectionrate is 120 times higher in the Quebec territory of Nunavik, which has a rate of 360 cases of tuberculosis per 100,000, according to a report released by Quebec's Ministry of Health.