(Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

TB prevention

AHA says no further tuberculosis cases identified since outbreak declared in communities

Oct 16, 2021 | 9:00 AM

The Athabasca Health Authority (AHA) has reported no additional cases of tuberculosis since the outbreak was declared in Fond Du Lac and Black Lake a week ago.

On Oct. 8 the outbreak was announced and the AHA reported six cases in Black Lake and seven in Fond Du Lac.

Executive director of primary health care for the Athabasca Health Authority Taiwo Olubanwo told paNOW they alerted the close contacts of the cases to ensure they’re informed and have managed them.

The COVID-19 pandemic he said has drained a lot of resources from the healthcare system but once the outbreak was declared there were more resources made available for tuberculosis. He said one of the major challenges has been shortages of staff because of the resources being given to fight COVID-19.

“We identified the need to increase the workforce for the management of the existing tuberculosis in our community,” he said. “So far, it’s been contained it has not been spread as much because we identified and worked on it.”

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In addition to the increase of staff, they’ve also put more resources into public education and awareness. This has made the communities affected by the outbreak more aware and has given them the knowledge to help limit the effect on themselves and the community. They’ve also done contact tracing, case management, as well as assigned tuberculosis nurses and a support team.

“The treatment of tuberculosis is not the same as that of COVID-19,” he said. “COVID-19 you can easily quickly manage, within weeks you should be fine, but tuberculosis takes months. So, there’s one thing to start the treatment there’s another thing to complete the treatment.”

He said tuberculosis is caused by bacteria and COVID-19 is caused by the virus, so it varies. It is a disease that is spread from person to person through the air. It affects the lungs and sometimes the brain, kidneys, spine and can be fatal. Some of the recommendations they’ve sent out are anyone who has tuberculosis should be careful not to get COVID-19 because the effect of the two diseases at the same time could be complicated, but manageable. They also recommend patients adhere to all treatment plans, have good hygiene, come forward if you develop symptoms and encourage family to support their loved ones, and reach out to be supported when necessary.

“There’s one thing about diagnosing tuberculosis early. Once it is diagnosed early, the management of it is much better than if it grows into a full-blown one,” he added.

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow