Detention and the evolving threat of tuberculosis: evidence, ethics, and law.
The issue of detention as a public health control measure has attracted attention recently. This is because the threat of strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to a wider range of drugs has been identified, and there is renewed concern that public health is threatened. This paper considers whether involuntary detention is justified where voluntary measures have failed or where a patient poses a danger, albeit uncertain, to the public. We discuss the need for strengthening evidence-based assessments of public health risk and suggest that we should reflect more profoundly on the philosophical foundations upon which our policies and practices are grounded.
Coker
Richard
R
Department of Public Health & Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Thomas
Marianna
M
Lock
Karen
K
Martin
Robyn
R
D054908:Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014943:Global Health; D006806:Human Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D010356:Patient Isolation / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011634:Public Health / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends