Tuberculosis response expanded after outbreak declared in Edmonton’s inner-city

New drugs for hard-to-treat tuberculosis strains may be fast rendered ineffective themselves if incorrectly used. (Hailshadow / Istock.com)

Alberta health officials have expanded their contact tracing teams in response to a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Edmonton’s inner-city population.

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Edmonton Zone Lead Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Chris Sikora, said the number of TB cases in the city’s homeless population was higher than expected. He said three to four annual cases of TB are typically seen in the inner-city population, but there have been 12 cases so far this year. Three of the dozen cases have been confirmed to be from the same TB strain.

“We have expanded our team to include more of our social-serving community agencies to help enable people to get access to the tests that are needed to be able to see if they have TB or not,” Sikora told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

Sikora said contact tracing teams help track and investigate potential cases of the infectious disease, and the work is being co-ordinated through emergency departments and other branches of health services.

According to Sikora, shelter and social agencies are also working to help link people with services to “get them back to a state of health.”

On Thursday, Primary Care Alberta (PCA) said testing in October confirmed two people with TB were infected with the same strain of the disease, which suggested possible local transmission.

PCA said TB is a “preventable and curable infectious disease” that primarily affects the lungs and is treated with antibiotics.

Sikora said the “risk to the general Edmonton population is very low,” but those with a cough that lasts longer than two weeks should consult with a physician.

“There may be testing that could be very reasonable to be able to help investigate if you have TB,” he said.

Anyone with questions or concerns can contact the Edmonton TB clinic by phone at [phone], or call Alberta Health Link at 811, or speak to a doctor.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach and Angela Amato