Tuberculosis in Indigenous communities

Learn about tuberculosis (TB) and the importance of taking steps to prevent the spread of the disease. TB is preventable and curable.

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What is TB and how does it spread

TB is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread through the air when someone with contagious TB coughs, sneezes, sings or talks. It mainly affects the lungs and airways but can also affect other parts of the body.

What happens if I breathe the TB germs into my lungs?

1 of 3 things can happen:

  1. Your immune system kills the bacteria and you do not become infected.
  2. You become infected, but your immune system keeps the germs in an inactive or sleeping state within your body. This is called TB infection (formerly known as latent TB), or sleeping TB. TB infection does not cause any symptoms and is not contagious.
  3. You become infected and then develop TB disease. This may happen soon after infection, weeks, months or years later. TB disease will make you feel sick and it is contagious.

If I have TB, can it spread to others?

  • TB infection (sleeping TB) cannot be spread to others
  • TB disease can spread to others through the air by coughing, sneezing, talking or even singing
  • You cannot spread TB to others by shaking hands or sharing dishes with them
  • Anyone can get TB, and people often don't know they have it until they are tested or they get very sick. People affected by TB are not at fault

Symptoms

If you have TB disease, you may feel sick with some of the following symptoms:

If you are sick with any of the above symptoms and wonder if it could be TB, you should see your health care provider and ask them whether your symptoms could be related to TB.

Diagnosis

TB is diagnosed using information that can include:

How is TB treated?

Both TB infection and TB disease can be treated with antibiotics. Left untreated, TB infection can sometimes develop into TB disease. TB disease can spread to others and can be deadly without medical treatment.

  • If you have TB infection, you may be offered antibiotics to prevent the TB infection from becoming TB disease. Depending on the treatment you and your health provider decide on, treatment can last 3 to 9 months
  • If you have active TB disease, you must be treated with antibiotics to kill all of the germs and cure the TB. Treatment usually takes between 6 and 9 months.
  • TB antibiotics are often given by a trained TB worker who will support your treatment journey

If you stop taking the medicine early or don't take all of the doses, TB may come back and become a stronger TB germ. When this happens, even the best TB antibiotics might not work on the germs anymore. This is called drug resistant TB. Drug resistant TB is more complicated and difficult to treat. It is very important to take all of the medication, even when you start to feel better.

How to help prevent the spread of TB

Be TB aware. Know the symptoms of the disease. Know whether there is, or has been, TB in your community.

Talk to your healthcare provider about your own risk for TB disease. If you know you have TB infection, ask what you can do to reduce your risk of progression to TB disease.

If you have symptoms of TB disease, get checked by the doctor or nurse as soon as possible. The sooner TB is found and treated, the less it can spread to your friends and family and the better chance you have for a complete cure.

Share information about TB with your family, in your school and around your community.

Support the people in your community that have been affected by TB. TB can affect anyone, anywhere. However, the proper medications and support can cure TB.

TB and Indigenous communities

For most people in Canada, the risk of getting TB is very low. However, the rates of active TB are disproportionately higher among Indigenous Peoples in Canada due to social inequities as a direct result of colonial policies and practices that include forced relocation, loss of lands, creation of the reserve system, banning of Indigenous language and cultural practices, Indian hospitals and TB sanitoria, and the creation of the residential school system. Learn more about the history of TB in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

Factors that increase the likelihood of developing TB disease

If you have a strong immune system and TB infection, there is a 5 to 10% chance over your lifetime that it will become TB disease. The likelihood increases if you experience conditions that weaken the immune system, such as HIV, substance use, diabetes, severe kidney disease, organ transplant recipient, taking medications that weaken the immune system, poor dietary intake, or are very young or very old in age. First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada are disproportionately impacted by factors that increase the risk of being exposed to TB germs, or progressing to TB disease once infected with TB germs. This heightened risk can be understood in the context of inequities and the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization.

TB resources

These resources can help raise awareness and understanding about TB and how to prevent the spread of TB.

TB is curable.

Share what you learn about TB with family and friends. Together let's stop TB!

Resources for Inuit

Resource for First Nations

Related links

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