Tuberculosis in Canada 1987

In 1987, 1,957 new or reactivated cases of tuberculosis were reported in Canada, an 8.8% drop from 1986. This corresponds to an overall decline of almost 50% in Canada's tuberculosis rates over the past decade. This article examines tuberculosis rates by sex, age and province, and identifies four high risk groups. The first group, comprising North American Indians and Inuit, has a rate five to ten times higher than the Canadian population. Poor inner city residents have rates up to four times higher, and foreign-born Canadians up to three times higher. For all Canadians, risk increases with age, and thus the elderly comprise the fourth risk group. A fifth group, males aged 25 to 44 infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and who later develop Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), has emerged in the United States although no increased risk is at yet seen in Canada.