TB outbreak hits Manitoba reserve

Residents from a reserve in northern Manitoba are blaming health officials for not doing enough to stop the spread of a tuberculosis outbreak in their community.

Nineteen people have been diagnosed with tuberculosis in Garden Hill First Nation reserve with more possible cases to come, forcing the community to close two schools and a daycare.

Chief David Harper said that he is frustrated with Health Canada because even with the high number of people diagnosed, not everyone in the community has been tested yet.

Did you spot the problem with these three paragraphs? A lot of blame being placed on Health Canada and the government, and no responsibility at all for the reserves themselves.

Like most bacteria, the spread of TB could be reduced through proper hygeine. Some of the triggers of TB are malnutrition and alcoholism - that's why it's a risk in homeless shelters. And on reservations. The cliche of the drunken Indian is a cliche for a reason - alcoholism is rife among the native population.

A study in Ontario... found that alcohol consumption was as much as 35 per cent higher in counties that have native reserves than those that don't.

Until the natives begin to take some responsibility for washing their own hands and putting down their whiskey bottles, diseases like tuberculosis will continue to plague the reservations. And no amount of nurses or doctors can help those who will not help themselves.