A woman who has been refusing treatment for tuberculosis has been arrested, Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass recently confirmed.
Freda Lynn Evans, 53, was apprehended last weekend, Douglass said, after a warrant for her arrest under the Public Health Act was issued Nov. 3 by provincial court associate chief judge Michael Brecknell.
Douglass said the arresting officer took precautions to avoid contracting the disease and added a mask was put over Evans's face as soon as she was in custody and taken to Prince George Regional Correctional Centre.
Northern Health had resorted to seeking an arrest warrant after Evans, a homeless woman with addictions, had repeatedly failed to live up to plans for treatment.
The final straw came when Evans was undergoing detox at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. in early October. When she was told she needed treatment, housing and possible confinement, Evans discharged herself against medical advice.
Evans tried to put up a fight when she was arrested, Douglass said.
Evans will be detained in a special room at PGRCC for up to six months where she will be required to receive treatment. Brecknell did give Evans a chance for earlier release from PGRCC by agreeing to a treatment plan.
Standard treatment consists of four pills a day for two months and two pills a day for four months. However, if Evans has developed a resistance to the medication, Northern Health public health officer William Osei said she may be required to go through a significantly more expensive process for the highly contagious and potentially fatal disease.
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