Tacoma Tuberculosis Tammy is in custody and in a negative-pressure room!

[thewayne]

(my name for her, somewhat euphonious if long)

She was taken into custody a couple of days ago without incident, transported to jail in a vehicle with isolated air systems, and put into a cell/treatment room with a negative-pressure air system.

The article implies that she still has the option of not being treated, but as she is in defiance of a court order, I would imagine that she will be held until she complies.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/06/woman-with-untreated-tb-finally-in-custody-held-in-negative-pressure-room/

Comments

[dewline]

Good. Finally.

[acelightning73]

You'd think we'd have defeated TB by now. It's been a constant companion to poor and inadequately housed human beings since we climbed down out of the trees. Yes, vaccination with Bacillus C-G does provide immunity to TB, and some antibiotics do work. But not too long ago, people with TB were went to "sanatoriums" - hospitals in rural areas where the patients could get fresh air and sunshine, which might occasionally help them get better.(THat's the plot of the kid's story Heidi)

We've managed to defeat the bubonic plague, smallpox, polio, diptheria, and other infectious diseases that once killed millions. I got both forms of the polio vaccine in school, a smallpox vaccination shortly after birth, and the usual array of vaccinations - DPT, measles, a separate tetanus shot when I stepped on a rusty nail - would have been in early 1948.

[acelightning73]

You'd think we'd have conquered TB by now; it's been a constant companion to the poor and inadequately housed of the human race. I mean, we managed to beat the bubonic plague, smallpox, postpartum infections, and polio. At least we can vaccinate people against TB and leprosy (with bacilllus C-G, which seems to protect against mycobacteria. But at least this woman is finally going to get appropriate medical treatment, including isolation and her own body weight in powerful antibiotics.

[thewayne]

And yet these diseases keep coming back.  And with presidential candidate Kennedy Jr. being a rabid anti-vaxxer, or is it Vax Truther?, it won't get any better.

[acelightning73]

I'm old enough not to vote for another Kennedy. (And what a stupid-rich-boy trick: buying an expensive airplane and not learning how to fly it safely.)

[warriorsavant]

Typhoid Annie is still alive and well. But then consider how many anti-vaxxers are alive and voting.

[thewayne]

Terribly sad.

[devilc]

At. Freaking. Last.

[disneydream06]

Thank heavens for some good news. :)
Hugs, Jon

[bibliofile]

Yay, at least she won't be out infecting people by simply existing. (Unlike queer folks, I might add.)

[felisdemens]

I hope she gets the mental health treatment she clearly needs in addition.

[thewayne]

Very much so.

[silveradept]

Glad that someone is getting the treatment they need for the disease. And hopefully, if they need to, they can trace back all of what happened so that they can eliminate any sources of TB she came across.

[thewayne]

Going to be delicate.  I can't see them posting her picture and saying 'Did you encounter this woman on a bus or at a casino?' with the HIPAA regulations in effect.

[silveradept]

No, but they might post something like "were you at this casino room at this day and time? The Health Department requests you come in same get a TB test." That would keep the person out of it while still trying to get all the people she may have potentially infected.