Abstract
The aim of this research was to conduct a thorough review on the
literature of tuberculosis in Canada and the Province of Quebec. To
achieve this aim, an exhaustive literature review of tuberculosis in the
Province of Quebec was undertaken. Data was collected with the goal
of creating an epidemiological and public health evidence base to forecast
the spread of tuberculosis. A keyword search strategy was used to
find relevant articles from the peer-reviewed literature using the electronic
search engine PubMed and a search of other relevant federal
and provincial government databases. Twenty-nine peer-reviewed publications
and twenty government reports containing information about
the incidence or prevalence of tuberculosis in the Province of Quebec
were included in the analysis. An analysis of the data revealed that
while tuberculosis rates have been decreasing in both Canada and
Quebec with an overall incidence below 3 per 100,000 of population in
2007, among immigrants and the Inuit communities in Quebec, the
incidence and prevalence of the disease still remains high and reached
18 per 100,000 and 100 per 100,000, respectively in 2007. In general,
while tuberculosis does not pose a significant burden to the general
population, it does continue to affect certain sub-groups disproportionately,
including select immigrants and Inuit communities in Quebec.
Efforts to ensure that cost-effective healthcare interventions are delivered
in a timely fashion should be pursued to reduce the associated
morbidity and mortality of tuberculosis in the Province of Quebec.