Submitted by James (Jay) Miller, MD MPH (Tacoma-Pierce County Health Officer).
You may remember reading news stories over a year ago about a woman who needed life-saving tuberculosis treatment.
We have a happy update: She’s cured!
The woman cooperated with Pierce County Superior Court’s orders and our disease investigators. She’s tested negative for tuberculosis (also called TB) multiple times. She gained back weight she’d lost and is healthy again.
The patient and her family gave us permission to share this update. They are happy she got the help she needed.
Protecting the community from a serious disease.
Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all people and places in Pierce County.
Often, that looks like basic public health protection day after day: Inspect restaurants, review septic systems, visit new parents to make sure they have the support they need. Every day, Health Department staff also work to prevent the spread of serious diseases like tuberculosis, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS, and help people get the treatment they need for these diseases.
Just like other healthcare providers you might interact with, our nurses and other staff maintain confidentiality when doing this work. Usually, the public doesn’t hear any of the details. However, because this situation led to a lot of media coverage and discussion in the community, the patient and her family wanted to share the ending of the story.
Tuberculosis is contagious and can be fatal, but you can cure it with medication. When we reach out to people with newly diagnosed TB, they are usually happy to get the treatment they need to protect themselves and our community. However, some patients refuse treatment for a variety of reasons. It takes a lot of time. Like most medications, tuberculosis treatment can have side effects. And it’s not always easy and affordable to isolate.
State code directs us to prevent the spread of tuberculosis. 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.
Seeking a court order is our last resort after we exhaust all other options. It’s a difficult process that takes a lot of time and coordination with other agencies. The situation last year was just the third time in 20 years the Health Department had to seek a court order.
Successful end to a long journey.
Health Department staff worked for more than a year with our partners and the patient’s family to persuade her to isolate and seek treatment.
Finally, the Health Department asked for a court order and help from law enforcement to require the patient to isolate. As you might have seen in the news last year, Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies then took the patient to the clinic inside the Pierce County Jail. At that point, she realized how serious her situation was and decided to treat her illness.
With her family’s help, our disease investigators earned her trust. She began to take her medication and regained her health over time.
People and agencies across Pierce County worked together to reach this outcome. Case workers, lawyers, law enforcement and a judge worked with our staff to help protect the public from tuberculosis. And thankfully, the patient eventually got the treatment she needed. She is now cured, which means that tuberculosis no longer poses a risk to her health. This also means she is no longer at risk of infecting others.
Protect yourself and others from tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It’s one of the most common illnesses in the world. Rates of tuberculosis disease are much lower in the U.S. than in some countries, though they’ve increased nationally every year since 2020. We’ve seen increasing numbers locally as well but have not connected any local tuberculosis cases to this patient.
If you are concerned about tuberculosis, contact your healthcare provider. You can get a tuberculosis test at many locations in Pierce County.
Tuberculosis testing is recommended for people at higher risk, even if they do not have any symptoms. This includes people who were born in or have lived in countries with higher rates of tuberculosis, as well as people who have lived or worked in a correctional facility or a homeless services facility.
Some people can have a silent tuberculosis infection called “latent tuberculosis.” People with latent tuberculosis are not contagious, but they can get sick from tuberculosis later on. So we recommend people with latent tuberculosis get treated as well. The treatment for latent tuberculosis is simpler than the treatment for people who are sick with tuberculosis. Learn more about at tpchd.org/tb.
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Hard to believe in this day and age, people have to be convinced the take treatment.