Multiple sclerosis study confirms prevalence of the disease in Canada

MONTREAL — Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world and the country fails in providing adequate services for sufferers, a new study suggests.

The global survey by the World Health Organization and the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation focuses on the prevalence of the disease in more than 100 countries representing almost 88 per cent of the world's population.

The Atlas of Multiple Sclerosis was launched on Wednesday at the beginning of a four-day conference on the disease.

The study said MS strikes 133 people out of every 100,000 in Canada, the fifth-highest rate among the nations surveyed between 2004 and 2007.