CBC: 80 out of 600 people screened for tuberculosis at mobile health clinic in Qikiqtarjuaq
In the clinic’s first week it screened 80 people, with a goal to screen every person in the community of 600. (Travis Burke/CBC)
‘It’s been heartbreaking to watch sometimes,’ says Mayor Mary Killiktee
At the mobile tuberculosis clinic in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, screening patients for the disease is going well, and officials who visited last week are pleased with its progress.
In the clinic’s first week it screened 80 people, with a goal to screen every person in the community of 600.
The community has a tuberculosis rate of 10 per cent. The hamlet’s mayor, Mary Killiktee, says some families were tapped for the first round of screening.
“It’s been heartbreaking to watch sometimes, you know, seeing families especially with little ones,” she said.
“But it’s good to see that they are not refusing to come in.”
Last week, the heads of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, as well as Nunavut’s premier and health minister were given a tour of the clinic.
