Tuberculosis in Canada - Summary 2015

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health problem that affects an estimated 10 million people each year. In Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) monitors active TB disease through the Canadian Tuberculosis Reporting System (CTBRS).

To report on and analyze the number of new and re-treatment cases of TB cases in Canada reported for 2015. Results are discussed in the context of previous year's data. Treatment outcomes for cases diagnosed in 2014 are also presented.

The CTBRS is a case-based surveillance system that maintains non-nominal data on active cases of TB. Data are collected and analyzed by PHAC and validated by each province and territory; no statistical tests were used.

A total of 1,639 cases of active TB disease were reported in 2015, representing a slight increase from the number of cases reported in 2014 (1,614) and a corresponding increase in the incidence rate from 4.5 per 100,000 to 4.6 per 100,000 population. Although the incidence rate of TB remained highest in Nunavut at 119.2 per 100,000 population in 2015, it was nearly half of what it was in 2014. An outbreak in Newfoundland and Labrador resulted in a notable increase in the number of reported cases and incidence rate in this province. In 2015, males accounted for just over half of the reported cases at 53% and older Canadians carried the highest burden of TB with an incidence rate of 10.3 per 100,000 population. Foreign-born individuals continued to account for the majority of reported cases at 71%, but the incidence rate remained highest among Canadian-born Indigenous people at 17.1 per 100,000 population and in particular within the Inuit population at 166.2 per 100,000. Pulmonary TB remained the most commonly reported site of disease. Treatment outcome data for cases reported in 2014 indicated that 85% of cases had been cured or had completed treatment.

Tuberculosis rates in Canada have changed little over the last decade and overall, remain stable and low in the global context. However, foreign-born individuals and Indigenous Canadians continued to be disproportionately represented among reported cases of TB in 2015. As the primary source of national data on TB cases, the data within this report provide timely information for public health action, as well as policy and program development and assessment.