Death rate for tuberculosis in Canada 2000-2019

In Canada, the death rate for tuberculosis (TB) has remained stable for the past twenty years. In 2019, around 0.2 out of 100 thousand Canadians died from TB. This statistic displays the age-standardized death rates in Canada from 2000 to 2019 for tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a lung disease caused by a contagious bacterium spread through the air and was the deadliest communicable disease worldwide in 2019. The disease often remains dormant for a few years after infection, after which about five percent of those infected will develop active TB disease. Although reported cases have remained low in developed countries, many developing countries still struggle with higher rates. Moreover, individuals with HIV are at higher risk of developing and dying from an active TB infection, especially in high-burden countries.

Prevention, treatment, and control

Nowadays, treatment using antibiotics is the primary treatment modality for those infected with the bacterium causing TB. Efforts to reduce the burden of tuberculosis include enhancing prevention and control of cases of the disease, identification of risk factors, and treatment strategies for populations at risk of developing the active disease. Although reported cases have remained relatively low in Canada for the past thirty years, populations within the country at high risk include Indigenous peoples and foreign-born individuals.