Three challenges related to the expansion of LTBI diagnosis and treatment in Nunavut

Published February 2020.

If we are to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in Nunavut by 2030, we need to increase certain medical activities within affected communities on a proactive and regular basis over a number of years. One of these activities is the diagnosis and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI, also known as ‘sleeping TB’) [1].

Expansion of LTBI diagnosis and treatment is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), whose EndTB Strategy (2014) states that “ending the TB epidemic will require the elimination of this pool of [latent TB] infection”. More specifically, one of WHO’s EndTB Strategy documents states that “management of LTBI in people with a high risk of developing active TB could be an essential component of TB elimination, particularly in low TB-incidence countries.”