Abstract
Northern populations were at a high risk of developing invasive bacterial diseases (IBDs). Since the last published study that described IBDs in Northern Canada, a number of vaccines against some bacterial pathogens have been introduced into the routine childhood immunization schedule. To describe the epidemiology of IBDs in Northern Canada from 2006 to 2013. Data for 5 IBDs (invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease (Hi), invasive Group A streptococcal disease (iGAS), invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) and invasive Group B streptococcal disease (GBS)) were extracted from the International Circumpolar Surveillance (ICS) program and the Canadian Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Incidence rates were calculated per 100,000 population per year. During the study period, the incidence rates of IPD ranged from 16.84-30.97, iGAS 2.70-17.06, Hi serotype b 0-2.78, Hi non-b type 2.73-8.53, and IMD 0-3.47. Except for IMD and GBS, the age-standardized incidence rates of other diseases in Northern Canada were 2.6-10 times higher than in the rest of Canada. Over the study period, rates decreased for IPD (p=0.04), and iGAS (p=0.01), and increased for Hi type a (Hia) (p=0.004). Among IPD cases, the proportion of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)7 serotypes decreased (p=0.0004) over the study period. Among Hi cases, 69.8% were Hia and 71.6% of these were in children under than 5 years. Of 13 IMD cases, 8 were serogroup B and 2 of them died. Northern population in Canada, especially infants and seniors among First Nations and Inuit, are at a high risk of IPD, Hi and iGAS. Hia is the predominant serotype in Northern Canada.
Highlights
Established in 1999, the International Circumpolar Surveillance (ICS) program is a population-based infectious disease surveillance network of circumpolar countries including United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia [1]
Hi type a (Hia) is the predominant serotype in Northern Canada
ICS has been monitoring invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae since 1999 and invasive diseases caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B streptococcal disease, GBS), Haemophilus influenzae (Hi) and Neisseria meningitidis since 2000
Summary
Established in 1999, the International Circumpolar Surveillance (ICS) program is a population-based infectious disease surveillance network of circumpolar countries including United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia [1]. In Canada, Northern regions (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Labrador, and Quebec Cree and Nunavik) and a network of laboratories, including three reference laboratories (the National Centre for Streptococcus [NCS] (1999–2009), the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec [LSPQ], and the National Microbiology Laboratory [NML]) participate in the ICS program. The demography of Northern Canada differs from the rest of the country. Especially Indigenous peoples, have higher rates of invasive bacterial diseases (IBDs) compared with the rest of Canada [2,3,4,5,6]. Northern populations are known to be at a higher risk of developing invasive bacterial diseases (IBDs) compared with the rest of Canada. Since the last published study that described IBDs in Northern Canada, a number of vaccines against some bacterial pathogens have been introduced into the routine childhood immunization schedule
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