Sparking a state-wide manhunt in California after refusing treatment for a highly virulent strain of Tuberculosis, suspect Eduardo Rosas Cruz, 25, was recently arrested in Kern County and detained until he is medically cleared to be transferred, Deputy District Attorney for the San Joaquin County Stephen Taylor told sources.
"We're interested in this guy because he broke the orders of the health officer," Taylor says.
After being preliminarily diagnosed of being infected with Tuberculosis at the San Joaquin General Hospital's emergency room early last March, Rosas Cruz objected to receiving a chest X-ray which would inform physicians if the infection had manifested and would require isolation. Agreeing to stay in a Stockton motel room until health workers deemed that medication was in effect and isolation protocol would cease, Rosas Cruz later fled the motel against orders of health officers.
A transient who comes from a region of Mexico rampant with Tuberculosis, and a predisposition to severe crack cocaine and methamphetamine drug abuse, Rosas Cruz is thought to have a particularly lethal strain of the virus that is resistant to current drug therapies. A viral infection that embeds itself into the host's DNA, only manifesting once the immune system is weak enough to be taken over, Tuberculosis is a severe infection that often leads to death if untreated. And as amphetamine use has skyrocketed, which uses many similar active-ingredients as current drug treatments, drug-resistant strains such as Rosas Cruz's have arisen and caused great concern for a potential epidemic.
Highly infectious and transmittable through the air we breathe, Rosas Cruz knowlingly infected others which is considered criminal action by California ordinances. Charged with a misdemeanor count of refusing to comply with a tuberculosis order, he is being detained in isolation while health officials try to administer treatment.
Forced into isolation, Cruz cannot be forcefully treated for his infection by health officials according to the law, however, he can be isolated for as long as the disease is communicable. Further action by the district attorney and the San Joaquin County law enforcement cannot be taken until treatment commences, and health officers estimate that this can take up to nine-months, which is the standard course of medication treatment required in these situations. Until then, Rosas Cruz remains under the custody of Kern County and isolated for the well-being of the public.
