Tacoma woman is cured of tuberculosis after legal and medical intervention

A medical drama surrounding a Tacoma woman with tuberculosis has come to an end now that she is cured.

The Tacoma woman was the third case in two decades in which a court order was issued because a person refused treatment. She also spent time in jail.

The woman had refused treatment in 2022 and 2023, and refused to isolate from others, creating concern that the disease would spread in the community. By May 2023, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department had spent a year attempting to find and convince the woman to isolate and get treatment, with the help of her family.

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An arrest warrant was issued and the woman was briefly taken into custody in June. She still refused treatment and was allowed to return home that same month, as long as she isolated.

According to the health department: "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."

Today, the woman has tested negative for tuberculosis multiple times, and "she is no longer at risk of infecting others," the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in a statement.

"She gained back weight she’d lost and is healthy again," the statement reads.

Health departments are required to stop the spread of diseases like tuberculosis by state law. According to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, a court order is the "last resort."

Pierce County sees about 20 cases of tuberculosis each year.