XDR-TB patients can be isolated
2008-07-29 12:53
Johannesburg - The Cape High Court has authorised the isolation of patients with extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) to protect the health of the public, reports the SABC.
This, after the Western Cape Health Department asked the court to decide whether the compulsory admission and continued isolation of patients at the Brooklyn Chest Hospital, near Milnerton, was legally justifiable.
According to the SABC, the court found that the isolation of patients with infectious diseases such as XDR-TB was universally recognised in democratic societies.
Isolation was justified to protect the public, even though it intruded on the privacy of those involved.
Describing the matter as a test case for the rest of the country, Western Cape health MEC Pierre Uys told the national broadcaster he was satisfied with the ruling.
- SAPA