NUNAVUT
The number of TB cases in Nunavut this year has climbed to 100 as of Dec. 14. with the most in the Baffin region, said Dr. Isaac Sobol, Nunavut's chief medical officer.

He added 49 of those cases were in Iqaluit, 30 in Cape Dorset and the rest spread in 12 other communities. Sobol also said 15 to 24-year-olds were the hardest hit.

"I wouldn't say we're alarmed," he said. "I'd say we're concerned because we don't like to see high rates of TB cases anywhere. It's concerning and the fact that there is a jurisdiction in Canada with such high rates of tuberculosis should be a cause of concern for the whole country."

Sobol said there is not a direct relationship between the Cape Dorset cases and the Iqaluit cases, but DNA analysis will identify the individual bacterial strains.

Sobol said he couldn't explain why the number of TB cases spiked this year, surpassing the previous high of 58 in 2008. But he did say the infectious and potentially deadly disease that often attacks the lungs is more prevalent in areas where the socio-economic conditions, such as over-crowded housing or poor ventilation, aren't great. He added the disease is also associated with high rates of smoking, which exist in Nunavut.

Although not happy with the situation, Sobol said there are good medicines available and there has been a "very high rate" of completion of the treatment regime.

Fighting TB will require a healthy living strategy and steps to fight poverty, something Sobol said the territorial government has recognized it needs to invest in. This means having more staff to find infected people, a better surveillance system and a database to follow outbreaks.

The record-high levels of TB in the territory this year were "very worrisome" to Qikiqtani Inuit Association President Okalik Eegeesiak.

"I don't know if it's a surprise to anybody with our shortage of housing and the way our houses are built," she said. "I don't know how we will address the TB issue."

She added TB is more than a territorial government issue, as it doesn't have the resources to deal with it. The federal government needs to get involved and address the territory's social issues faster than it is doing now, said Eegeesiak.

"I don't think TB has ever really gotten away from Inuit or aboriginal people, whereas people from southern Canada worry about it," she said. "I think there would be a public outcry if this happened ... in Ottawa or Montreal with these numbers of cases."

Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, stated she is "deeply concerned" by the increased cases of tuberculosis in the territory.

"Tuberculosis is a real and present threat for all Canadian Inuit," she stated in a press release.