Iqaluit shelter worker quits over TB infections

A front-line worker at the Iqaluit homeless shelter for men has quit after testing positive for a latent form of tuberculosis.

Dallas Anderson said he is one of several staff members at the Oqota emergency shelter who discovered they are carriers of the TB germ during a round of testing held at the shelter last month.

Anderson, whose initial test results came back positive within the past week, said he has left the shelter in order to protect his family, including his pregnant wife.

"Since then, I've just been looking for options of what we can do, whether some workers' comp action or legal action, even, that can be taken towards the Salvation Army," he told CBC News.

"We got sick while on their watch, basically."

Staff in various test stages

The Oqota shelter was operated by the Salvation Army until the start of this year, when a provisional local board of directors took over.

Provisional board chairman Monte Kehler said the shelter's 16 staff members are in various stages of TB testing, and a number of them have had the same results as Anderson.

The shelter is working closely with public health officials to ensure those who have tested positive are taking the proper medication, he said.

"I think everyone recognizes it's an unfortunate situation and they're just kind of moving on as best they can there," Kehler said.

Latent TB carriers not contagious

Tuberculosis is caused by a germ called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can remain latent in a person's body or develop into a full-blown, active TB infection.

Health officials say latent carriers do not display symptoms and cannot transmit TB unless it develops into the active form of the airborne respiratory disease.

Only about 10 per cent of latent TB cases involving healthy people develop into active tuberculosis, officials add.

Anderson said public health officials conducted the tests because it was believed that a man staying at the shelter had an active form of the disease.

TB rates higher in North

Nunavut's Health Department would not comment specifically at the situation at the shelter, but officials say public health screens the Iqaluit homeless shelter once a year because it's considered to serve a high-risk TB group.

Elaine Randell, a communicable disease consultant with Nunavut's Health Department, said active TB is a serious issue in Canada's North.

"On average, our rates overall are usually around 20 times that of the nation," Randell said.

Anderson said the news of the TB case has created stress for his family, adding that he and his wife are anxiously awaiting more test results that they hope will rule out the active form of tuberculosis.