Arrest warrant extended for Washington state woman who refuses TB treatment

A Washington state woman who has refused treatment for tuberculosis for more than a year remains at large three months after a civil warrant was issued for her arrest, officials said this week.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said Monday that the woman, identified in court documents as UN, continued to refuse treatment and that a judge on Friday extended the civil order he had issued in February, authorizing police to detain her.

Sometime afterward, the woman was seen leaving her home and taking a city bus to a local casino, according to a lawsuit filed in April. A UN lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health said this was only the third time in the past 20 years that it had to seek a court order to detain a patient who refused treatment for TB, the world’s second leading infectious killer after Covid-19. TB, a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which spreads through the air through infected people, will kill 1.6 million people by 2021, according to the World Health Organization.

A local health department official, who was not named, had “determined or has reason to believe” that the woman still had tuberculosis, according to a May 10 indictment. It was not clear from the county’s latest statement what her condition was this week.

In a hearing on Friday, Judge Philip Sorensen of the Pierce County Superior Court extended the arrest warrant he had issued on Feb. 24.

Judge Sorensen had said in the February order that he issued the order after the woman refused or failed to comply with previous orders to take medication or self-isolate. He also said she had “not resumed treatment,” suggesting the woman had taken the medication at some point.

Sergeant Darren Moss, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, said in an email Tuesday that the woman was not in custody.

“I can’t provide information on how we’re trying to locate her, what we’re looking for or any other details because it could ruin the efforts of our deputies,” he said.

If the warrant is followed, the woman will be held in a Pierce County jail. At the facility, she would be tested and treated until it is determined that she poses no threat to public health.

Patricia Jackson, chief of the Corrections Bureau of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, said in an April lawsuit that she ordered surveillance of the woman to obtain information so officers could make a safe arrest.

That came after an officer saw her go to a local casino, the filing said. The officer said the woman was not home for the next few days and her relatives did not respond to attempts to contact them. Ms Jackson said in the filing that she had instructed the officer to stop surveillance until a later date.

On May 1, a person identifying himself as the woman’s son called the health department, according to court documents, and asked if his mother had missed her hearing and when the next hearing would be held. The next hearing is scheduled for June 23.

There are about 20 cases of active tuberculosis in Pierce County each year, according to the health department, and active, untreated infections pose a risk to the community. Symptoms depend on where in the body the infection is and can include a severe cough lasting three weeks or more, fatigue, weight loss and fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people recover completely from TB with medication, but if left untreated it can result in death.