Towards TB elimination in Canada: Optimizing tuberculosis screening and prevention

The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to eliminate TB by 2050, but Canada is not on target to meet that goal. To reach our national TB elimination targets, we must reduce TB rates by 10% per year but we are only reducing TB rates by 2% per year. My research program is aimed at developing evidence to improve TB screening, prevention and treatment policies in order to accelerate TB elimination in British Columbia (BC) and Canada.  

In my primary research project, my team is using provincial health databases to describe TB epidemiology in the foreign-born population of Canada. Our goal is to develop a TB risk score and to create evidence that informs cost-effective TB screening policy. My team is also using TB genome sequencing data to understand TB transmission networks and to find areas for public health intervention. Lastly, we are developing evidence to improve treatment outcomes for people affected by TB.