WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg woman who has been in jail since April will spend another three months behind bars despite not having committed any crime.
The 30-year-old is being detained under a rare section of the Public Health Act because she has infectious tuberculosis and has repeatedly stopped treatment. Health officials obtained a rare order from the courts to keep her locked up in a provincial jail. They say she is putting others at risk, especially since she has previously worked in the sex trade. An original 90-day order was granted in April and then extended this week.
“I am concerned that without proper treatment, [she] may eventually develop drugresistant tuberculosis that is difficult or impossible to treat,” Dr. William Libich of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority wrote in an affidavit filed with the courts.
The woman was first diagnosed with TB in December and put on a treatment plan that takes between six and nine months to complete, provided there are no interruptions. The WRHA says in its affidavit the woman has stopped treatment on five occasions, which forced it to conduct extensive searches in the community to find her and bring her back to start the process over.
The WRHA says she has been “belligerent” with public health staff trying to treat her when she is in a medical unit at the provincial facility.
The new detention order expires in late September.
Origin
Source: National Post
The 30-year-old is being detained under a rare section of the Public Health Act because she has infectious tuberculosis and has repeatedly stopped treatment. Health officials obtained a rare order from the courts to keep her locked up in a provincial jail. They say she is putting others at risk, especially since she has previously worked in the sex trade. An original 90-day order was granted in April and then extended this week.
“I am concerned that without proper treatment, [she] may eventually develop drugresistant tuberculosis that is difficult or impossible to treat,” Dr. William Libich of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority wrote in an affidavit filed with the courts.
The woman was first diagnosed with TB in December and put on a treatment plan that takes between six and nine months to complete, provided there are no interruptions. The WRHA says in its affidavit the woman has stopped treatment on five occasions, which forced it to conduct extensive searches in the community to find her and bring her back to start the process over.
The WRHA says she has been “belligerent” with public health staff trying to treat her when she is in a medical unit at the provincial facility.
The new detention order expires in late September.
Origin
Source: National Post
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