CTV Winnipeg reports that a Manitoba woman is being held in custody by police because she has tuberculosis and stopped getting treatment. Here, a patient receives a vaccine injection.iStockPhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto
CTV Winnipeg reports that a Manitoba woman is being held in custody by police because she has tuberculosis and stopped getting treatment.
The woman has been detained under a rarely used provision of the Manitoba Health Act.
The 30-year-old woman is a sex trade worker.
Officials with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority won't comment on specifics of the case.
But they say the act is meant to prevent other people from being placed at risk.
Mike Routledge of the health authority says tuberculosis is easily spread and they want to eliminate the spread of the disease.
He says when people have tuberculosis and don't get treatment they stand an increased chance of developing a drug-resistant strain of the disease, which is an even bigger public health threat.
Tuberculosis affects the lungs and other parts of the body, causing cough, fever and weight loss. The disease can be transmitted through the air or saliva.