An infectious woman wanted by police for refusing to isolate or be treated for tuberculosis (TB) has been caught breaking the rules – getting on a public bus and walking around a casino.
The patient, from Tacoma, Washington state, has refused to self-isolate or take medication since being diagnosed with the contagious bacterial infection more than a year ago.
The woman, deemed a public safety risk by a judge and being quarantined and medicated against her will, was spotted last month by an officer watching as her home near a casino was cordoned off.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease killer worldwide, killing 1.5 million people each year. However, the vast majority of cases can be easily treated with medication.
Laws that allow courts to order someone to stay home or isolate themselves from others after being identified as a public health risk are on the books in 38 US states, including the three most populous of California, Texas and New York (red).
The number of deaths due to tuberculosis has decreased significantly over the past three decades. They have dropped from about 1,800 in 1993 to about 600 in 2020, the CDC reports
On March 2, a warrant was issued for her arrest and her involuntary hold at the Pierce County Jail.
According to an April 3 police report provided to The Tacoma News Tribune, Correctional Facilities Superintendent Patricia Jackson said she “directed an officer to monitor the defendant to determine her habits in order to safely carry out the order .”
The filing states that the officer “saw a person they believed to be the defendant leave their home, get on a city bus and arrive at a local casino.”
If caught, she will be held in the Pierce County Jail.
It added that in the following days, “the officer continued to conduct surveillance only to find that the defendant was not at home.”
The woman was diagnosed with tuberculosis in January 2022 after she was reportedly a passenger in a car accident and went to the emergency room with chest pains.
X-rays showed progressive tuberculosis. She also tested positive for Covid.
Tuberculosis diagnoses are rising for the first time in 20 YEARS worldwide
The WHO reported that 10.6 million people will have TB by 2021, an increase of 4.5 percent.
She received her first isolation order in mid-January and has had more than 20 orders since then, up to last month’s contempt order and arrest warrant.
According to the March warrant, she was to be held in the Pierce County Jail to be tested and treated for TB until medical tests show she “no longer poses a threat to the public health, safety and welfare.”
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that usually affects the lungs and is spread through prolonged contact with others.
The BCG vaccine provides up to 80 percent protection in infants and young children, but the injection is less effective against TB in the lungs in adults.
The BCG vaccine is not widely available in America and does not prevent infection.
Symptoms depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing, but include chest pain, loss of appetite, chills and fever.
It is spread when someone infected with pulmonary tuberculosis coughs, talks or sings, but one would have to be in close contact for several hours to catch it.
The TB death rate in 2020 was 0.2 deaths per 100,000 people, 13 percent higher than the 2019 figure.
Treatment involves three to nine months of treatment with the antibiotics isoniazid and rifampicin. Depending on the type and severity of the infection, the medication can be used daily to weekly.
Documents filed early in the case’s history said the woman began but did not complete prescribed treatment for tuberculosis.
Officials fear the woman’s refusal to self-isolate puts the rest of the community at risk.
At the final hearing on April 5, Nigel Turner, director of infectious disease control at the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, said the case “will be referred to the Pierce County Sheriff to arrange for the person’s custody.”
The next court hearing is scheduled for May 19.
Source link
Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
