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Aboriginal People in Manitoba 2000 Chapter 2 : Health

Aboriginal children, particular in isolated communities, are at increased risk of contracting a number of infectious diseases. A recent study of shigellosis, a highly infectious diarrheal disease, found rates among First Nations children 29 times the rate for other Manitoba children. This was linked to sewage and waste disposal inadequacies, as well as poverty and crowded housing. There are also higher rates of respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, where environmental factors such as tobacco and wood smoke may also play a part. Lowered resistance to infectious disease has been attributed partly to Vitamin A deficiency in northern areas.²³

In Manitoba, 23% of on reserve First Nations children aged 0-14 in 1997 were described by their parents as having a health status only “fair” or “poor.” This is in comparison with 16% of First Nations/Inuit children nationally, and with only 2% of Canadian children involved in the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth, conducted during the same period.

The most-frequently reported chronic illnesses were allergies (11%) and asthma (10%). However, these conditions do not appear to be any more common than among First Nations children than among Canadian children in general. Bronchitis and ear infections, on the other hand, were more frequently noted among First Nations children, both provincially and nationally.²⁴