Officials worry over Sask. TB rate

A medical health officer says tuberculosis is still a serious problem in Saskatchewan with 60 new infections diagnosed in northern Saskatchewan last year.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal this week called for urgent federal action to address TB rates, especially in Nunavut.

Nunvavut has a TB rate more than 60 times the national average. And the CMA says Canadian doctors have been expressing alarm about TB rates in the north for 100 years.

Dr. James Irvine says infection rates in Saskatchewan aren't quite as bad — but they can't be ignored.

"We still have to recognize that TB is a health concern in parts of Canada and we still need to be working together to improve the situation."

Irvine says the spread of TB infections isn't just a First Nations problem since roughly 40 per cent of Saskatchewan's new cases developed off reserve.