Tuberculosis in Canada 2007
Pre-Release

• Introduction
• Highlights
• Tables
• Acknowledgements
• How to reach us

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Introduction

To facilitate an earlier release of Tuberculosis in Canada, 2007, the following five tables have been extracted from the Canadian Tuberculosis Reporting System (CTBRS) for the year 2007. Data included in this pre-release report should be considered provisional until publication of the full report, Tuberculosis in Canada 2007.

Highlights

In total, 1,547 new active and re-treatment tuberculosis (TB) cases (a rate of 4.7 per 100,000 population) were reported to the CTBRS in 2007.  Both the number of cases reported and the case rate decreased; this represents a 6.3% and 7.2% decrease, respectively, compared with 2006.  The TB case rate in 2007 was the lowest recorded since data collection began in Canada.

The three most populous provinces (British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec) which collectively made up 75% of Canada’s population in 2007, accounted for 75% of the total number of reported cases. The highest rate, 99.6 per 100,000 population was reported in Nunavut. For New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the rate was less than 1 per 100 000 population. For Prince Edward Island, no TB cases were reported (Table 1).

Individuals between the ages of 35 and 44 years made up the largest number of reported cases, accounting for 18% of the total. The corresponding case rate of 5.6 per 100 000 for this age group, however, was surpassed by the age-specific rates of 6.4 and 10.1 per 100,000 for those in the older age groups of 65 to 74 years, and greater than 74 years, respectively (Table 2).

In 2007, foreign-born individuals accounted for 66% of all reported TB cases in Canada. Canadian-born non-Aboriginal and Canadian-born Aboriginal cases made up 11% and 20%, respectively (Table 3).  However, the TB rate in the Canadian-born Aboriginal group continues to be the highest of the three groups, approximately five times the overall Canadian rate.

Pulmonary TB, defined as tuberculosis of the lungs and conducting airways, was the most frequently reported main diagnostic site, representing 65% of all reported cases in 2007 (Table 4).  There were a total of 62 cases of primary TB with 77% of these reported in the Canadian-born Aboriginal population.  Of the 202 peripheral lymph node TB cases, 87% were diagnosed in the foreign-born cases (Table 5).

Tables

Table 1
Reported new active and re-treatment tuberculosis cases and incidence rate per 100,000 – Canada and provinces/territories: 1997-2007

Table 2
Reported new active and re-treatment tuberculosis cases and incidence rate per 100,000 by age group – Canada: 1997-2007

Table 3
Reported new active and re-treatment tuberculosis cases by origin – Canada and provinces/territories: 2007

Table 4
Reported new active and re-treatment tuberculosis cases and incidence rate per 100,000 by main diagnostic site - Canada: 1997-2007

Table 5
Reported new active and re-treatment tuberculosis cases by birthplace and main diagnostic site – Canada: 2007

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the provincial/territorial tuberculosis programs and their teams for their contribution to and participation in the Canadian Tuberculosis Reporting System:

Alberta Health and Wellness Disease Control and Prevention Branch	Tuberculosis Control Program Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Health Region
Division of Tuberculosis Control British Columbia Centre for Disease Control	Department of Health and Social Services Yukon
Manitoba Tuberculosis Control Program	Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada
Department of Health and Wellness New Brunswick	Canadian Lung Association
Department of Health and Community Services Newfoundland and Labrador	Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network
Department of Health and Social Service Government of Northwest Territories	Canadian Thoracic Society
Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health Nova Scotia Department of Health	Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Department of Health & Social Services Government of Nunavut	Correctional Service Canada
Vaccine Preventable Diseases and TB Control Unit Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care	First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada
Department of Health and Social Services Prince Edward Island	National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada
Direction de la Protection de la Santé Publique Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux, Québec	Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada

How to reach us

For more information, copies of this report or other related reports please contact:

Tuberculosis Prevention and Control
Community Acquired Infections Division
Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control
Infectious Disease and Emergency Preparedness Branch
Public Health Agency of Canada
100 Eglantine Driveway, Health Canada Building
A.L. 0603B, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9
Tel: (613) 941-0238
Fax: (613) 946-3902
Email: TB_1@ phac-aspc.gc.ca

This report can also be accessed on the internet at:
http://www.publichealth.gc.ca/tuberculosis

This report was prepared by:

Edward Ellis, MD, MPH, FRCPC Manager Tuberculosis Prevention and Control	Kathryn Dawson Surveillance Officer Tuberculosis Prevention and Control
Victor Gallant, MA Tuberculosis Database Manager Tuberculosis Prevention and Control	Melissa Phypers, MSc, MPA Senior Epidemiologist Tuberculosis Prevention and Control
Andrea Saunders, RN, BScN, MSc Epidemiologist Tuberculosis Prevention and Control	Derek Scholten, MSc Senior Epidemiologist Tuberculosis Prevention and Control

^(C) Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Health, 2008.