Woman Went On The Run To Avoid TB Treatment – Now She’s Been Cured

Officials in Pierce County, Washington State, have announced that a woman who initially refused to be treated for tuberculosis (TB), even spending three months evading the police in order to do, has successfully been cured of the disease.

Staff from the local health department had been attempting to persuade the Tacoma resident, known only as V.N., to get treated for a TB infection for well over a year. Under most circumstances, people have the right to refuse medical treatment, but in Washington, it’s a different matter when it comes to TB.

“State code directs us to prevent the spread of tuberculosis,” explained Tacoma-Pierce County Health Officer James Miller in a blog post . “In the unusual situation in which a patient refuses to isolate, we have a legal responsibility to take steps to protect community health. Occasionally, that can include seeking a court order to persuade patients to isolate,” he continued, noting that such an approach is used as a very last resort.

A court order was given out to the woman and renewed several times, until in March 2023, a judge found the woman in contempt of court and issued a civil arrest warrant .

The story didn’t end there though – V.N. managed to avoid custody for three months, even taking a bus trip to a local casino . Eventually, however, law enforcement agents caught up with her, and she was taken to Pierce County Jail.

There, said Miller, “she realized how serious her situation was and decided to treat her illness.”

TB is a serious illness that primarily affects the lungs and can be fatal when left untreated. In fact, it’s the world’s most deadly infectious disease, killing 1.5 million out of the 10 million people it infects around the globe each year.

While it’s more often seen in low- and middle-income countries, cases of TB in the US have been increasing every year since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . In Washington, an average of four people are diagnosed with TB per week .

The disease is, however, curable (and preventable ). Though some drug-resistant forms of TB exist and take a little longer to treat, many infections can be tackled with a one to six-month course of four different antibiotics.

Having spent the last year in custody receiving such treatment, V.N. has now been successfully cured of TB.

“With her family’s help, our disease investigators earned her trust. She began to take her medication and regained her health over time,” said Miller. “She’s tested negative for tuberculosis (also called TB) multiple times. She gained back weight she’d lost and is healthy again.”