Authorities in Washington State are set to arrest a woman who has been avoiding tuberculosis treatment and isolation for more than a year.
Judge Philip Sorensen on Thursday signed an arrest warrant permitting authorities to detain the 42-year-old woman, identified in court documents only as V.N. Once arrested, she will be taken to a specially designated facility at the Pierce County Jail for isolation, testing and treatment, KOMO reported.
Sorensen issued the order “as a last resort,” he said, after health officials appealed to him for a 16th time last month to get the woman to voluntarily isolate or resume taking medication.
The woman was under an involuntary isolation order from Dec. 25, 2022, to Feb. 8, 2023, according to the health department. Officials said the woman started treatment but left before it was complete.
Her court-appointed attorney, Sarah Tofflemire, suggested in a filing Wednesday, which was obtained by The Tacoma News Tribune, that the woman has been refusing treatment because she doesn’t fully understand what is happening.
The documents added that when the woman has appeared in court, she has “spoken out of turn with rapid, disorganized speech,” and has failed to acknowledge the existence of her medical condition.
Tofflemire requested that her client be appointed a guardian to represent her best interests.
TB is caused by a bacterium that can attack vital organs. While it’s preventable and curable, it’s still a highly infectious disease that can spread through the air. Symptoms include a severe cough, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
“In each case like this, we are constantly balancing risk to the public and the civil liberties of the patient,” Nigel Turner, a spokesman for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, said in a statement.
“We are always hopeful a patient will choose to comply voluntarily. Seeking to enforce a court order through a civil arrest warrant is always our last resort.”
