Health officials in the Yukon are working to stop the spread of tuberculosis in the territory, which has one of the highest infection rates in Canada.

Chief medical officer Dr. Brendan Hanley said the Yukon currently has 26 active cases of TB in three undisclosed rural communities.

Two nurses in a special TB control unit are travelling to affected communities and working with local nurses to treat those who have the disease.

But of greater concern, Hanley said, is about 30 other people who are at high risk of contracting the contagious airborne disease, or carry the germ that causes TB, and potentially develop the full-blown illness.

"These are the people that need extra follow-up, extra support," Hanley told CBC News in an interview that aired Tuesday.

"This is really where we're putting our money at the moment, is on following these 30 or so people who are high risk contacts for TB, high risk for developing active TB, who face addictions issues, and who really need to be closely followed."

Hanley said many of the people health officials want to help are chronic alcohol users who may not have permanent homes and are in poor health.

Skyrocketing rates

Hanley said TB rates in the Yukon have skyrocketed in the last few years, with infection rates "well above the national rates by manifold."

While he said there is no single reason for the high rates, Hanley said TB is linked closely to conditions related to poverty.

"One was alcohol use and probably other substance abuse as well. The other is housing -- unstable housing, crowded housing," he said.

"Really, there's almost no disease that relates more closely to social determinants than TB."

Hanley said the current strain of TB circulating in the Yukon is not drug-resistant, but the challenge is to encourage people who really need preventative treatment to get it.

"Either we can find ways to put them on treatment, or if we cannot put them on treatment, to at least have extended close follow-up for these individuals," he said.