A Washington woman is being treated for ongoing contagious tuberculosis and has been sent to prison after spending the past year willfully violating multiple court orders to isolate herself while being treated. facing the possibility of
Last week, the Tacoma-Pierce County Department of Health announced it was “monitoring” cases of active tuberculosis among women in the county who refused treatment.
“Most people we come into contact with are happy to get the care they need,” Nigel Turner, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases Control, said in a press release last week. refuses treatment or isolation, and in those cases we take steps to keep our communities safe.”
But the woman’s refusal to heed public health guidance has been a longstanding challenge for local authorities, according to a report by The News Tribune. The first court order seeking the woman’s involuntary isolation dates back more than a year to her January 19, 2022, according to documents filed in Pierce County Superior Court and reviewed by the Tribune.
deadly threat
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection caused by: Mycobacterium tuberculosisIt can invade other areas of the body, but primarily causes disease in the lungs. Without proper treatment, it can easily be fatal. Mycobacterium tuberculosis It is transmitted through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or spit, launching bacterial cells into their surroundings. Transmission most often occurs through close, prolonged contact, but inhaling just a fraction of these microscopic pathogens is enough to cause infection. It is one of the leading causes of infectious disease death in the world, with 1.6 million deaths in 2021.
Treating tuberculosis is not easy. If uncomplicated, he would need to take four antibiotics for four or six months to effectively clear the infection.but Mycobacterium tuberculosis is becoming increasingly drug-resistant and even widespread drug resistance (XDR-TB), both of which are considered a global public health crisis and health security threat. These drug-resistant cases may require antibiotic courses of up to 20 months, using expensive and toxic alternative treatments. However, drug resistance develops or increases when patients fail to complete or adequately take a prescribed course of antibiotics, as was the case with the Washington woman.
A court document dated January 2022 stated, “The local health officer will: [the woman] Self-isolate and treat. she declined. [The woman] Not complying with such efforts, discontinuing treatment, and unwilling to resume treatment or self-isolate voluntarily. ” [the woman] quarantine in her residence [and] Cooperate with the tests and treatments recommended by your healthcare provider. “
The court issued an involuntary isolation order, but it did little. The woman continued to refuse treatment and isolation, according to an order issued on 26 January 2022. The order she was renewed on 14 February 2022, then on 24 February, and again on 24 March, 19 April, 17 May and June. 28th, 27th July, 25th August, 27th September, 21st October, 18th November, 16th December.
breaking point
The health sector appears to have hit a breaking point last month. Not only did the woman serve nearly a year in prison for violating a court order, but she was also in a car accident, apparently highlighting her negligence. According to supplementary court documents filed by the Ministry of Health on her January 11, the woman had been involved in a traffic accident as a passenger. would have been at risk of contracting tuberculosis during such close, confined contact.
In addition, doctors and other hospital staff were also at risk because she went to the emergency department the day after the crash complaining of chest pains and did not tell the treating doctor about her active tuberculosis case. After taking a chest x-ray and checking the condition of my lungs, cancer was initially suspected. However, X-rays revealed that her tuberculosis case was in fact worsening.
In addition, she also tested positive for COVID-19, “which strongly suggests that she has not been quarantined in accordance with this court order,” the Ministry of Health court filing said. increase.
The court updated that order on January 20, 2023, stating that failure to comply this time would result in “a further action by the court, including electronic home monitoring and detention in Pierce County Jail or other lawful order.” It could lead to a finding of insult,” he added. Courts may issue in accordance with applicable codes. “
“We value the balance between restricting someone’s freedom and protecting the health of our communities,” Health’s Turner said in a statement to the Tribune. We want to have time to follow and try many different things, an option that doesn’t require detaining anyone,” he added. Yes, and we don’t do it lightly, but sometimes it’s necessary when the public is at risk.”
The United States will have 7,882 tuberculosis cases in 2021 and 600 tuberculosis-related deaths in 2020, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Pierce County, south of Seattle, the average is about 20.
