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Tuberculosis rears its ugly head Quick steps prevent disease from spreading in Sanikiluaq
Myles Dolphin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 24, 2013
SANIKILUAQ
Two recent cases of tuberculosis in Sanikiluaq were dealt with swiftly before the disease could spread, said Dr. Geraldine Osborne, Nunavut's acting chief medical officer of health.
Nunavut's acting chief medical officer of health, Dr. Geraldine Osborne, said a student who contracted tuberculosis at Paatsaali High School earlier this month wasn't very infectious. - NNSL file photo |
While a few other residents are still under investigation, these are the first active cases in the hamlet in the past 10 years, Osborne said.
As of June 18, more than 70 members of the community - mostly Paatsaali High School students - had been screened.
"The student at the school who contracted the disease wasn't very infectious, really," she said.
"This was a good opportunity to access the students pretty easily before the summer, when they usually scatter off. Right now we're focused on close contacts of those two cases, which is our usual approach."
Osborne said she was amazed at the number of screenings the supervisor of community public health nursing was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.
Reinforcements arrived on June 14 when a public health worker flew in to help conduct screenings and gather information. A nurse who was also asked to travel to the community declined to go.
"It can be really tricky getting a nurse," Osborne said.
"Fortunately the nurse in Sanikiluaq has been in Nunavut for a long time and she's familiar with tuberculosis. Often temporary nurses may not have dealt with the disease before."
Senior administrative officer Andre Larabie said there was never a sense of panic in the community and everything is under control.
"Dr. Osborne explained to me that (the GN Department of Health and Social Services) will do everything they can to get through this situation," he said.
"They've been wonderful in answering all our calls and keeping in constant communication with us. We really feel supported by them."
Larabie said residents have been invited to call the health centre to get screened if they are unsure of their medical condition.
"People know they can be tested and we're taking this very seriously," he said.
"This was just a little hiccup in the road and we're ready to move forward. It's under control as far as the town is concerned."
Older residents of the community would likely remember the tuberculosis outbreaks of 1957, when 51 people were taken to hospital in Moose Factory, Ont., or 1969, when 15 people were stricken with the disease. By 1974, Sanikiluaq finally had a nursing station, according to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission.
Resident Sarah Meeko remembers when her parents had to leave for a year in the early 1970s because of a tuberculosis scare. She was around seven years old at the time.
"My younger siblings and I had to stay with relatives but it was the greatest feeling when my parents came back," she said.
"They had sad stories about their time at the hospital because they weren't allowed to step on the floor. So when they were finally discharged, they could hardly walk."
Tuberculosis is a disease that commonly attacks the lungs. Some of its symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing and fever.
Osborne said 20 cases have been reported in six different communities this year across Nunavut, which is a slightly slower trend than in previous years.
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