Movement of TB man should be revealed

A council has taken legal steps to ensure a man suffering from TB gets treatment.

We do not know exactly why the council needed to take such a step.

The man needs treatment for a particular drug resistant form of the disease which is contagious.

No details about the man’s movements have been released and reassurances have been given that TB is not easy to catch - some estimates are that an individual would need to be in reasonably close contact with a sufferer for up to an hour to increase chances of catching the disease.

But we believe the authority should publish more details of the man’s whereabouts and his movements.

Patient confidentiality is important but the public has a right to know exactly what the location and level of exposure might have been.

There probably is very little risk to the wider population and the authority has done absolutely the right thing in ensuring - through the court - that this man gets the treatment he needs.

Ultimately public safety concerns outweigh all others when dealing with a serious disease like TB - especially a rare strain that is resistant to drugs.