Decline Of The Tuberculosis Epidemic In Alaska

Between 1949 and 1960 three tuberculin surveys have been done among the Eskimo population living in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta of Alaska. The results of tuberculin tests among children less than 3 years of age were utilized to obtain an estimate of the tuberculosis infection rates. In 1949-51, the average annual infection rate was 24.6%; in 1957 it was 8.5%; and in 1960 it was only 1.1%. This dramatic decline appears to have resulted not only from improvements in social and economic conditions but particularly from a vigorous antituberculosis campaign with emphasis on case finding, isolation, and treatment. Map. Tables. Line graph. Bibliography.