Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada
Background. Tuberculosis (TB) is an important public health problem in the Northwest Territories (NWT), particularly among Canadian Aboriginal people. Objective. To analyse the transmission patterns of tuberculosis among the population living in the NWT, a territorial jurisdiction located within Nor...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2013-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/download/20067/pdf_1 |
| _version_ | 1819087287514824704 |
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| author | Cheryl Case Kami Kandola Linda Chui Vincent Li Nancy Nix Rhonda Johnson |
| author_facet | Cheryl Case Kami Kandola Linda Chui Vincent Li Nancy Nix Rhonda Johnson |
| author_sort | Cheryl Case |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Tuberculosis (TB) is an important public health problem in the Northwest Territories (NWT), particularly among Canadian Aboriginal people. Objective. To analyse the transmission patterns of tuberculosis among the population living in the NWT, a territorial jurisdiction located within Northern Canada. Methods. This population-based retrospective study examined the DNA fingerprints of all laboratory confirmed cases of TB in the NWT, Canada, between 1990 and 2009. An isolate of each lab-confirmed case had genotyping done using IS6110 Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. DNA patterns were assigned to each DNA fingerprint, and indistinguishable fingerprints patterns were assigned a cluster. Social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine direct linkages among cases determined through conventional contact tracing (CCT), their DNA fingerprint and home community. Results. Of the 225 lab-confirmed cases identified, the study was limited to 195 subjects due to DNA fingerprinting data availability. The mean age of the cases was 43.8 years (±22.6) and 120 (61.5%) males. The Dene (First Nations) encompassed 120 of the cases (87.7%), 8 cases (4.1%) were Inuit, 2 cases (1.0%) were Metis, 7 cases (3.6%) were Immigrants and 1 case had unknown ethnicity. One hundred and eighty six (95.4%) subjects were clustered, resulting in 8 clusters. Trend analysis showed significant relationships between with risk factors for unemployment (p=0.020), geographic location (p≤0.001) and homelessness (p≤0.001). Other significant risk factors included excessive alcohol consumption, prior infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and prior contact with a case of TB. Conclusions. This study demonstrates how DNA fingerprinting and SNA can be additional epidemiological tools, along with CCT method, to determine transmission patterns of TB. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T21:33:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f5205acfcb7e4a079eb31b4b81e6e362 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2242-3982 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T21:33:45Z |
| publishDate | 2013-05-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f5205acfcb7e4a079eb31b4b81e6e3622022-12-21T18:49:33ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Circumpolar Health2242-39822013-05-017201810.3402/ijch.v72i0.20067Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, CanadaCheryl CaseKami KandolaLinda ChuiVincent LiNancy NixRhonda JohnsonBackground. Tuberculosis (TB) is an important public health problem in the Northwest Territories (NWT), particularly among Canadian Aboriginal people. Objective. To analyse the transmission patterns of tuberculosis among the population living in the NWT, a territorial jurisdiction located within Northern Canada. Methods. This population-based retrospective study examined the DNA fingerprints of all laboratory confirmed cases of TB in the NWT, Canada, between 1990 and 2009. An isolate of each lab-confirmed case had genotyping done using IS6110 Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. DNA patterns were assigned to each DNA fingerprint, and indistinguishable fingerprints patterns were assigned a cluster. Social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine direct linkages among cases determined through conventional contact tracing (CCT), their DNA fingerprint and home community. Results. Of the 225 lab-confirmed cases identified, the study was limited to 195 subjects due to DNA fingerprinting data availability. The mean age of the cases was 43.8 years (±22.6) and 120 (61.5%) males. The Dene (First Nations) encompassed 120 of the cases (87.7%), 8 cases (4.1%) were Inuit, 2 cases (1.0%) were Metis, 7 cases (3.6%) were Immigrants and 1 case had unknown ethnicity. One hundred and eighty six (95.4%) subjects were clustered, resulting in 8 clusters. Trend analysis showed significant relationships between with risk factors for unemployment (p=0.020), geographic location (p≤0.001) and homelessness (p≤0.001). Other significant risk factors included excessive alcohol consumption, prior infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and prior contact with a case of TB. Conclusions. This study demonstrates how DNA fingerprinting and SNA can be additional epidemiological tools, along with CCT method, to determine transmission patterns of TB.http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/download/20067/pdf_1tuberculosis transmissionRFLPsocial network analysisaboriginalDNA fingerprintingcontact tracing |
| spellingShingle | Cheryl Case Kami Kandola Linda Chui Vincent Li Nancy Nix Rhonda Johnson Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada International Journal of Circumpolar Health tuberculosis transmission RFLP social network analysis aboriginal DNA fingerprinting contact tracing |
| title | Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada |
| title_full | Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada |
| title_fullStr | Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada |
| title_short | Examining DNA fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the Northwest Territories, Canada |
| title_sort | examining dna fingerprinting as an epidemiology tool in the tuberculosis program in the northwest territories canada |
| topic | tuberculosis transmission RFLP social network analysis aboriginal DNA fingerprinting contact tracing |
| url | http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/download/20067/pdf_1 |
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