TB OUTBREAK LINKED TO CRACK USE, OFFICIALS SAY

PORT ALBERNI -- Vancouver Island health officials have linked the
current tuberculosis outbreak in Port Alberni to the use and abuse of
crack cocaine.

"There is a close connection with crack cocaine use [in the
outbreak]," Janice Jespersen, public health nurse with the Vancouver
Island Health Authority, told Port Alberni city councillors this week.

Jespersen said crack users are at higher risk for contracting the
disease because of malnutrition, lung problems associated with crack
smoking and being confined in small spaces with other crack users for
long periods of time. Drug use also negatively affects the body's
immune system.

Authorities have identified 31 active cases of the disease since
April 2006 in Port Alberni's TB outbreak. The most recent positive
case was identified last week.

The ages affected by the outbreak range from 15 months to 60 years of
age, and four affected people have died because of the outbreak.
However, none of the deaths was directly related to TB disease.

Tuberculosis is an infection not easily transmitted among healthy populations.