Pretoria - The High Court in Pretoria has ordered the immediate admission to hospital of a couple infected with a highly contagious strain of tuberculosis, and who have refused treatment on religious grounds.
The court ordered that they must immediately be admitted to the Bongani TB Hospital in Mpumalanga, and the sheriff should call the police should the couple resist.
Having exhausted all means possible to get the couple admitted for treatment, the province’s MEC for Health turned to the courts for an order and it was granted on Wednesday.
In terms of Judge Elizabeth Kubushi’s order the pair - identified in court papers as Patient 1 and Patient 2 - are compelled to remain at the hospital for at least three months, depending on their response to treatment and until they have tested negative for the strain MDR tuberculosis.
Judge Kubushi said the couple were “immediately compelled” to adhere to the rules for MDR tuberculosis patients at this hospital.
She gave them until May 25 to try to convince her why this order should not be made final.
The judge ruled that their identities remain confidential and she requested the legal aid board to assist them if they wanted to take further legal steps regarding their forced admission to hospital.
The MEC approached the court on an urgent basis to intervene, as it was feared that each day the couple mingled with members of their community, they could infect others.
In February, the health authorities turned to the court in a bid for the couple to be isolated so that they did not spread the disease. They, however, never alerted the couple about the court action as the matter was deemed to be extremely urgent.
The judge, at the time, insisted that the application first had to be served on the couple.
The court heard that medical workers had visited the couple in the village where they live and for months tried to convince them to submit themselves to hospital for treatment.
They refused and the only concession they were prepared to make was to send their two small children away to live with relatives.
The man continued to work, where he came into contact with many people, while his wife went about her daily chores among the community.
They refuse treatment on religious grounds and no longer want to speak to the health authorities about their situation.
Pretoria News