Arrest Warrant Is Issued for Woman Who Has Refused Tuberculosis Treatment

Police have been dispatched to arrest a Washington state woman with an active case of tuberculosis who, for over a year, has repeatedly refused to isolate or get treatment for the infectious disease, health officials said Friday.

The woman, whose name the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department declined to divulge but who was identified in court papers by the initials V.N., was given plenty of chances to isolate or seek treatment.

Judge Philip Sorensen signed the arrest warrant “as a last resort” on Thursday after health officials appealed to him for a 16th time on Feb. 24 to get the woman to comply with his order that she either resume taking her medication or voluntarily isolate herself.

“Respondent’s objections to the order of February 24, 2023 are noted, preserved, and are insufficient to alter the court’s order,” Sorensen wrote. “The Pierce County Jail shall be authorized to transport V.N. to an appropriate designated facility within Pierce County including, but not limited to Department of Corrections facilities.”

Sorensen did not elaborate in his order on why V.N. has refused to comply. But he did warn the arresting officers that they would be transporting “a patient with active tuberculosis” and to take “appropriate precautions.”

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