Montreal public health officials are calling for better access to tuberculosis care after a sharp rise in the number of cases reported last year.
The regional health authority reported 203 cases in 2024, compared to an average of 123 cases per year over the previous decade, representing a 53 percent increase.
“This significant increase in the last year breaks with the stability observed over the previous years, which followed a downward trend observed over several decades until the early 2000s,” says an annual report published online last week.
While tuberculosis levels are low in Canada overall, the report authors said the illness disproportionately affects certain groups, including indigenous people and those born in countries where the disease is endemic….