NWT health officials find source of TB in Déline

Health officials in the Northwest Territories have isolated an individual believed to be at the root of a tuberculosis outbreak in the remote community of Déline.

There have been five confirmed cases of the contagious airborne disease in the community of about 700, located on the southwestern shore of Great Bear Lake.

Officials say there are 13 cases of people carrying Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the germ that causes tuberculosis. Carriers do not display symptoms and cannot transmit TB unless it develops into the full-blown disease.

The N.W.T. Health Department dispatched a team to investigate how the disease flared up in Déline, and to stop its spread.

Isolating the source of the bacteria makes it easier to target their testing for other carriers of the disease.

Officials are now trying to find anyone who may have been exposed through intermediate carriers.

People are being asked to be on the look out for symptoms: persistent cough, fatigue, weight loss, and sometimes coughing up blood.