California seeks arrest of man with tuberculosis

STOCKTON, California  — Prosecutors in California said Thursday that they have obtained an arrest warrant for a tuberculosis patient who is contagious and has refused treatment, putting those around him at risk.

Eduardo Rosas Cruz, a 25-year-old transient, went to a hospital emergency room in March, complaining of a severe cough. Diagnosed with tuberculosis, medical staff told him to stay in a motel room, where a health worker would deliver his medication and watch him take it. But officials say he took off.

Health officials asked prosecutors to seek the warrant, in part, because Rosas Cruz comes from a part of Mexico known for its drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis. Health officials are searching for Rosas Cruz, and his name is in a statewide law enforcement system, Deputy District Attorney Stephen Taylor said.

“He could be in a homeless shelter. He could be around the corner from the courthouse,” Taylor said. “We don’t know.”

Tuberculosis spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The disease most commonly infects a person’s lungs and can cause death.

Health officials searching for Rosas Cruz were not immediately available for comment. In court papers filed in support of the warrant, officials say Rosas Cruz resisted treatment from the start. He also uses crack cocaine and methamphetamine, officials said, estimating that he would need medical care for seven months.

He went to the hospital after feeling shortness of breath for two weeks, had a high fever and had lost considerable weight, in addition to the cough, according to court papers.

Taylor, who prosecutors public health cases, said he seeks arrest warrants like this once or twice each year.

In mid-2012, officials arrested Armando Rodriguez, who refused tuberculosis treatment. Taylor said Rodriguez, age 34 at the time, was released in January 2013.

Taylor, who did not know the status of Rosas Cruz’s residency, said he is not interested in punishing him through the criminal court system. Rather, Taylor said he is using the courts to protect the public’s health.