Thread by @CPHO_Canada

1/8 #COVID19 key concerns in 🇨🇦: Today, in lieu of a daily in-person update to the media, a Wednesday statement has been issued. You can read in full here: canada.ca/en/public-heal…

2/8 As we continue to fight #COVID19, we are also moving forward in our fight against another infectious disease #tuberculosis (#TB). TB is preventable and curable, yet it remains one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. #EndTB

3/8 #TB is caused by certain bacteria, which spread person-to-person through the air when a case of active TB disease coughs or sneezes. Unlike #COVID19, TB bacteria can stay airborne for several hours.

4/8 When a person breathes in the bacteria, they may become infected and the bacteria may lay dormant in their body (latent TB infection) or develop later in life into active TB disease. canada.ca/en/public-heal…

5/8 Like #COVID19, #TB disproportionately affects those experiencing poverty, inadequate housing & social inequities. TB rates in 🇨🇦 are low, but unacceptably high among Inuit, First Nations & newcomers, from countries where TB is more common.

6/8 Infection control practices, case detection and contact tracing are essential elements in the response to both #COVID19 and #TB. These must be coupled with efforts to support communities & address inequities.

7/8 Solutions will be driven by communities. Key to this is integrating First Nations and Inuit cultural perspectives and traditional knowledge into health care and public health practices, while recognizing the right to self-determination.

8/8 #EndTB is a priority for Canada. We have effective treatments and rapid diagnostic tests, and we have community-driven models we know work. As we fight #COVID19, let us not lose sight of our goal to eliminate #TB in Canada. canada.ca/en/public-heal…