Event Details

PHO Rounds: World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2022: What’s new with latent TB infection diagnosis and management in the updated Canadian TB Standards

In honour of World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, 2022, we are pleased to offer this TB-focused PHO Rounds session.

The session will begin with a brief epidemiological update on TB in Ontario from 2017 to 2021. It will then provide an overview of selected updates to the forthcoming Canadian Tuberculosis Standards, 8th Edition, with a focus on LTBI diagnosis and management recommendations. Key evidence informing the updated LTBI recommendations will be presented.

A question and answer/discussion period will follow the presentation, with the opportunity to consider the potential implications of the updated LTBI recommendations for local public health TB programs and practice, and their clinical partners in primary care.

Intended audience: Public health professionals, including TB program staff in local public health; clinicians interested in TB prevention and care, including latent TB infection (LTBI) diagnosis and management; occupational health professionals; decision makers involved in TB prevention and care.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe provincial epidemiological trends for active TB cases and LTBI reported in Ontario for the period 2017-2021
2. Identify three evidence-informed changes to the Canadian Tuberculosis Standards, 8th Edition’s recommendations for LTBI diagnosis and treatment
3. Consider potential implications of the updated LTBI treatment recommendations for public health practice (e.g., local public health unit TB programs) and primary care (e.g., providers involved in LTBI management)

Presenter(s): Dr. Gonzalo Alvarez, Andrea Saunders and Dr. Elizabeth Rea

Gonzalo Alvarez, MD, MPH, FRCPC, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at The University of Ottawa and a Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). In addition to his work serving the Ottawa region as a Respirologist at The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Alvarez is the Respirology and Tuberculosis Consultant for the Nunavut Department of Health. Since 2007, he has been providing pulmonary care for Nunavummiut through the Qikiqtani General Hospital and in his Ottawa Hospital respirology and tuberculosis clinics. Dr. Alvarez is the Associate Editor of the updated Canadian Tuberculosis Standards, 8th Edition.

Andrea Saunders, RN, MSc, is a Communicable Diseases Specialist with Public Health Ontario’s Health Protection Department. As a nurse epidemiologist, her work encompasses a variety of activities related to public health surveillance and management of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on TB, influenza and emerging respiratory pathogens, sexually transmitted and blood borne infections. Andrea is a graduate of the Canadian Field Epidemiology Program and has also completed post-graduate professional training in Tropical Nursing and Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Elizabeth Rea, MD, MSc, FRCPC, has been the Associate Medical Officer of Health with the Tuberculosis program at Toronto Public Health since 2005. She is the lead author of the Contact Follow-up and Outbreak Management chapter of the 2022 Canadian Tuberculosis Standards, and Co-chair of STOP TB Canada. She has served as Chair of the (now sunsetted) Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee-Communicable Diseases: Tuberculosis Working Group, and as member of numerous provincial and national TB work groups. She is an adjunct professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, where her teaching has included communicable disease control and epidemiology, and in public health ethics. Her TB interests include epidemiology, patient-focused care and outreach, determinants of health, reducing TB stigma and TB elimination.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of Public Health Ontario, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by Public Health Ontario.

Accreditation

Public Health Ontario Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). In order to receive written documentation for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, please check “Yes” beside the question “Do you require CME credits?” on the registration form.

College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Affiliate Members may count RCPSC credits toward their Mainpro+ credit requirements. All other CFPC members may claim up to 50 Certified credits per cycle for participation in RCPSC MOC Section 1 accredited activities.

PHO Rounds are also approved by the Council of Professional Experience for professional development hours (PDHs) for members of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI).

For more information or for a record of registration for other Continuing Education purposes, please contact capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.

Accessibility

Public Health Ontario is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact 647-260-7100 or capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.