Abstract
The Canadian Association for the Prevention of Consumption and Other Forms of Tuberculosis, parent to both the Canadian Tuberculosis Association and the Canadian Lung Association (CLA) with its medical arm, the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS), carried the Cross of Lorraine (Figure 1) and the crusade against tuberculosis (TB) in Canada during the twentieth century. For these societies, the battle was joined long before government - public health and communicable disease control - took up the cause. Allied or unallied with government, these societies were party to no small measure of success. TB mortality was 165/100,000 people in 1908; TB morbidity was just under seven/100,000 people in 1999. Yet, continued success is stalled; the incidence of TB in Canada has not changed for 15 years, and globally, TB is undergoing an unprecedented resurgence. Why is this so, and what of the role of the CLA and CTS in the fight against TB in the new millennium?
Highlights
The etiological agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has three unique traits
In Canada, despite an uninterrupted supply of antituberculous drugs at no charge to the patient, good prescribing practices and, in Figure 1) The Cross of Lorraine general, good case holding, the transmission of TB continues to occur among certain minorities such as Canadian aboriginals living on the Prairies or in the Northwest Territories
To redress the socioeconomic imbalance and to provide a focus of advocacy, the World Health Organization is promoting its ‘Stop TB – use Directly Observed Therapy Short Course (DOTS)’ campaign, based on a five-point strategy (5) that calls for government commitment to national tuberculosis programs, regular supplies of drugs, effective diagnostic microscopy services, treatment given under direct observation by trained supervisors and audit of the efficacy of the strategy
Summary
The etiological agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has three unique traits. First, its only significant natural reservoir is humans. Effective treatment for TB has been available for 50 years, the disease continues to flourish in most developing countries, and in geographically and demographically distinct groups within developed countries.
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