Quebec is facing a growing tuberculosis (TB) crisis in Nunavik, with six communities experiencing outbreaks and the region on track for a third consecutive year of record-high cases. Despite calls from local mayors to declare a public health emergency, the provincial health department has not yet committed, stating it is still analyzing the situation.
Dr. Faiz Ahmad Khan, a respirologist at the McGill University Health Centre and member of the RI-MUHC (the Institute) RESP program who also works in Nunavik, emphasized the chronic shortage of medical resources in the region, which severely hampers the TB response. He strongly supported the mayors’ call for a public health emergency, saying it would allow health centres to request urgently needed resources. Dr. Khan highlighted how the lack of basic infrastructure forces families to travel long distances just to access screening and diagnostics, leading to dangerous delays in treatment. He warned that without action, more preventable deaths from TB are likely, calling such a situation “totally unacceptable in Quebec in 2025.”
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Quebec ‘closely monitoring’ tuberculosis in Nunavik, minister says, as doctors call for more resources. CBC News. by April Hudson. June 10, 2025