ELECTION 99
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Worried Over TB Among Tibetan Refugee-Seekers Canadian Immigration Officers Threaten Strike

M J Shenoy in Toronto

When health officials here confirmed that five of the several hundred Tibetan refugee claimants who recently crossed the border from the United States into Ontario carry a strain of tuberculosis, immigration border guards began threatening to walk off the job.

"The officers are aware that certain strains of TB are resistant to drugs; they also know that it can be spread by a cough or sneeze," said one official. The would-be refugees reportedly came via India and Hong Kong.

Immigration and health officials suspect that the actual numbers of those with active TB may be higher because not all 400 Tibetans who have sought asylum since the last 10 months have had medical tests. Immigration officials also know that hundreds of Tibetans in a Buffalo, New York, shelter have not had medical checkup. These men and women are also waiting for refugee-interview appointments with Canadian officials.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is not only virulent and deadly if left unchecked, but also is extremely difficult and expensive to treat, a report in Globe and Mail newspaper said. One TB specialist estimates that the total cost for one MDR patient is more than $1-million (Canadian), the newspaper added.

While health officials say TB is a rare disease in Canada and there have been about seven cases a year per 100,000 people, they also point out that the number is higher among certain groups, including immigrants from developing countries.

The Ontario Medical Association says Toronto with about 450 cases of TB a year has a rate three times the Canadian average. About eight years ago, New York City saw a dramatic increase in the number of TB patients. Health officials there spent at least $750-million (US) to battle it.

Social workers and pro-immigrant groups warned this week that the revelation about possible TB strains in Tibetan immigrants could lead to unchecked rumors and whip up more anti-immigration sentiments.

Reports quoted Sister Mary Jo Led, a Catholic nun at Romero House refugee shelter, who wondered why, if the problem is so serious, immigration and health officials have not notified her and others sheltering Tibetan refugee applicants.

But Canadian Immigration Department insisted that it was not giving in to rumors. "We take any incident where public health is at risk seriously and treat it with priority, and right now we're working together with public-health authorities to develop a plan to minimize putting the Canadian public at risk," Immigration Department spokeswoman Giovanna Gatti said.

Canada cannot reject an applicant because of TB but critics of the immigration policy say that Canada is absorbing too much cost in dealing with immigrants who have serious health problems.

Next: The $900 Million Man Who Never Accepts 'No'

Tell us what you think of this report