The article says that "County health authorities obtained a court order to lock him up as a danger to the public because he failed to take precautions to avoid infecting others." Since he had a hearing, has another one scheduled, is represented by counsel, and is not alleging perjury by County officials it's pretty clear he was afforded due process.
Plenty of Americans are clueless about disease and health issues.
True enough, but how many know they are infected with an untreatable strain of TB and continue to act as though they are not contagious? Fortunately very few: the article mentions 17 others in Texas. So his case is by no means unique, but it is rare.
Generally accepted TB isolation guidelines permit patients to leave their isolation wards temporarily if they take simple precautions like wear a mask.
That's really the problem though isn't it? He won't wear one. From the article:
"County health officials and Daniels' lawyer, Robert Blecher, would not discuss details of the case. But in general, England said the county would not force someone into quarantine unless the patient could not or would not follow doctor's orders.
"It's very uncommon that someone would both not want to take treatment and will willingly put others at risk," England said. "It's only those very uncommon incidents where we have to use legal authority through the courts to isolate somebody." Even hardened criminals in solitary confinement at "supermax" prisons get to take showers and be let outside periodically.
I'll bet that hardened criminals who have untreatable TB and who refuse to wear a mask are not let out at all. I'll admit the lack of showers has me puzzled. There is probably some medical reason since I'm sure the hospital staff are not sadists. Or even if they are, I'll bet they are as tired of the smell as he is.
And getting infected with TB is not a death sentence. Heck, a third of the people on the planet right now are infected with TB and most will never develop active TB disease even if left untreated, so we're not talking about the same situation as some guy with AIDS running around injecting people with his own infected blood.
So those of us who are not infected with TB, whether the drug-resistant type or not, shouldn't worry about people wantonly spreading it because it likely won't kill us? Forgive me, but that's not a very convincing argument is it?
Flu is highly transmissible, people die from it, and there's no cure for it either, so by the "logic" that some people seem to be using, people with the flu who don't cover their mouths when they sneeze, touch objects after touching their mouth/nose, etc. should also be locked up as menaces to society. And if you've ever willfully and knowingly done these things, then you're also a criminal and should be charged with attempted murder, right?
Normal flu and untreatable TB are entirely different diseases. There are vaccines and treatments for flu. But you do make a good point. If we ever see a Bird flu pandemic and infected people are running around recklessly coughing in the faces of other citizens you may well see them get locked up.
It's easy to demonize this one guy and ignore the other conditions that contributed to getting him where he is.
Sorry, the only thing that put him where he is was his unwillingness to take the one basic precaution (wearing the mask)that would prevent the spread of a virulent disease. I sincerely hope his attitude has changed sufficiently so they can let him out later this month.
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