1,500 persons may have had direct,
indirect contact with TB patient
~ Maria says worker forfeited legal status when she ran away ~
OYSTER POND--An estimated 1,500 persons may have had direct or indirect contact with M.R.G., the brothel worker who tested positive for open tuberculosis (TB) over a month ago, Health Commissioner Maria Buncamper-Molanus said in underscoring the gravity of the issue and how potentially extensive it could be.
Urging those who may have visited the bar to get tested, the Commissioner said this figure is based on calculations on the estimated number of persons who may have been exposed to the TB patient and who could have gone on to expose others to the deadly infectious disease.
“In order to cover the entire group of people who potentially could have been affected, we are looking at 1,500 persons,” the Commissioner said in response to questions during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing.
In a press release issued via Government Information Service on Thursday, July 26, Sector Health Care Affairs said between 90-100 persons were at risk of acquiring open tuberculosis at a later stage if no treatment was given now. SHCA said this was based on calculations conducted by local health authorities on the number of persons who had visited Border Bar where M.R.G. worked.
The Commissioner said that the Island Government had stood guarantee for up to NAf. 7,000 to cover treatment, nursing care and medication for the brothel worker once she had been diagnosed and treatment had to be administered. She said employers are usually responsible for their employees’ medical bills, but this case was a public health threat and government had to respond. She said too that the employer was not known initially and had only come forward, after investigations had been done.
She said government will be pursuing reimbursements for any amounts it had to pay to treat the patient from the adult entertainment establishment.
Border Bar Manager Maruska Doran had said in an article which appeared on page one of the Tuesday issue of The Daily Herald that she had already paid bills to the tune of some US $10,000 or more to treat M.R.G. Receipts of just under this amount were shown to this newspaper.
Regarding the legal status of the worker, the Commissioner said the TB patient had forfeited her legal status when she “ran away” from the establishment on June 12, since her employer was the one who had applied for her to legally work on the island. She said too that the employer erred when she failed to report this matter to the police. The Commissioner said a person needs to be tested three times every three months before he or she could be declared TB free. “If someone is tested now, this means he or she has to get tested again in November and again in February (of 2008),” she said, adding that all the tests have to be negative before the person can be declared free of TB.
The Commissioner also brought up the issue of medical certificates that are required of immigrants coming to work on the island. She said it may be necessary to verify the authenticity of these certificates as well as specify what tests are required.
“I want to encourage persons to go and have the tests done. The confidentiality is there, they don’t have to be worried. If they have an issue with confidentiality, they can go to their house doctor,” the Commissioner said.
M.R.G. arrived on the island legally on Friday, May 4, and within days of her arrival, fell ill, was back and forth to the doctor, and was placed on a one week sick leave. Management had originally felt that her illness stemmed from the worker’s known asthmatic condition, especially since the treating doctor had not initially pinpointed the problem.
