Tuberculosis Patient Sent To Prison

KOMO, WA

PIERCE COUNTY - A local woman with tuberculosis went to prison because she won't take her medication. She had been under court order to stay in isolation in her room at a motel in Lakewood but on Thursday that all changed.

The woman had been under house arrest at the Fort Lewis Motel for the past several days. A judge ordered her to be watched around the clock to make sure she took her medication and didn't leave the room.

Thursday, police ordered the woman out of the motel to be taken off to prison. It was not because she committed a crime, but because she's a threat to public health. Tuberculosis is contagious and can be fatal.