TB sick beggars evicted – Göteborgs-Posten

The city of Stockholm threw a beggar even though she was diagnosed with TB. Now it is impossible to trace the infection.

In the last week evicted the City of Stockholm through the bailiff a Romanian woman from a caravan camp in Högdalen, despite her suffering from contagious TB. Now, you can not track more suspected contaminated EU migrants who were evicted at the same time, writes Aftonbladet.

According to the newspaper to be the city of Stockholm have known that the woman fell ill.

– We have consciously risked public health by continuing with the eviction, says Eliot Wieslander the association Médecins du Monde, Aftonbladet.

The woman lived crowded in the caravan, and according to data of the magazine will three other people in the woman’s proximity have shown signs of TB.

Doctor in the world , appealed unsuccessfully to the bailiff and the city that they would postpone the eviction to be able to track the spread of infection.

– We experience that consciously risked public health by continuing with the eviction, says Eliot Wieslander, Deputy Secretary General of the Association Physicians in the world.

Ewa Larsson (MP) is substitute social Mayors City of Stockholm, which ordered the eviction states that she should not have been informed that the woman was TB-infected and that she relied on the county medical.

Ake Örtqvist’s infectious disease physician at the Stockholm County Council would not comment on the case .

How is infectious TB:

• Tuberculosis is contagious just by a sick person with TB of the lungs coughs up bacteria in their environment. It is important to differentiate between latent infection and active disease. Many, especially older people and those from low-income countries, are infected and have a latent infection. However, only about five percent of those who during their lifetime develops active tuberculosis. People who are infected but do not have active disease or any symptoms from the respiratory tract can not pass it on.

What are the chances of getting infected?

Sweden, the risk is very small. Approximately 150 people fall ill with the potentially contagious TB in Sweden annually. As the disease progressed so far that it is contagious is however so sick to seek medical advice. After treatment decreases infectivity very soon to be non-existent after a few weeks.

How dangerous is TB?

• Before there were antibiotics, tuberculosis was the mortality rate is very high. The fatalities reported today almost exclusively from lower-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In Sweden cured basically everyone who falls ill. The treatment is long, normally six months.

How to protect against TB?

• Tuberculosis is an airborne infection where bacteria can remain in unventilated room for several hours. However, the bacteria are very sensitive to UV radiation so that all contamination is assumed to occur indoors. By regularly ventilate poorly ventilated spaces, reducing the risk of infection significantly even if a contagious person stayed in the room. One can not passively carry the bacteria to the relatives. The only thing that can infect their surroundings are people with active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Source: Communicable Disease Scania