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US: Court (in IL) orders TB patient into isolation

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  • US: Court (in IL) orders TB patient into isolation

    Source: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/loc...into_isolation

    Court orders TB patient into isolation
    By Meg Thilmony
    Thursday, January 22, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

    CHAMPAIGN ? A local man infected with tuberculosis will be monitored electronically and will have to stay in his residence during treatment except when health authorities allow him to leave, a judge ruled Wednesday.

    If Clasance B. Botembe, 20, of Champaign, disobeys the order issued by Champaign County Circuit Judge John Kennedy, it would constitute a Class A misdemeanor and carry a sentence of up to a year in the county jail.


    A hearing on the issue took place in a conference room at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. The News-Gazette successfully challenged attempts to close the proceedings.

    The health district will pay for the global positioning system device that monitors Botembe, as well as his rent, food and medication and will arrange for him to spend his isolation period in a hotel or motel. The order expires at the end of Botembe's treatment or in 30 days.


    Botembe appeared at the hearing with Jerry Lyke, his appointed attorney. Botembe, a native of Congo, wore a white-and-blue mask hooked around his ears.

    Almost everyone else present, including Kennedy, wore masks with straps fastening behind their heads. Kennedy wore a button-down shirt and vest instead of a gown and asked health officials to tell him if he was handling any documents in a way that might jeopardize his health.

    Health district officials said all air circulation to the conference room had been stopped for health purposes. One official instructed those attending the hearing about how to remove the masks upon leaving the district's conference room.


    Botembe answered Kennedy's questions about whether he understood and agreed with the order with a soft "yes sir." He coughed once during the hearing.

    During proceedings, Kennedy referred to Botembe only by his initials but denied requests from Lyke and attorney Fred Grosser, representing the public health district, to seal the order of isolation and close the hearing to the public. The News-Gazette's attorney, David Thies, objected, arguing that the court didn't have the authority to close the hearing. It's in the public's interest to know the identity of a resident with an infectious disease, Thies argued. To seal his identity would mean members of the news media couldn't do their jobs.

    However, Kennedy did allow records naming Botembe's live-in girlfriend to be sealed. She contracted tuberculosis after Botembe refused to wear a mask in her presence, according to court records.


    Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde said she couldn't comment about whether Botembe's girlfriend is being treated for tuberculosis, but said there's no reason for residents to panic about the disease.

    "Close contact is required" for it to spread, she said. The district hasn't seen an increase in residents asking for tuberculosis tests,
    she said, as many are required to take them for school and jobs.

    After the hearing, Senior Assistant State's Attorney Susan McGrath said the county has never held a hearing on an order of isolation or quarantine. Before the hearing, the public health district had trouble making Botembe take his medicine, wear a mask in the presence of others and stay in his apartment, according to court records obtained by The News-Gazette. But the GPS monitor will help the department do that, McGrath said. If he doesn't, the state's attorney will charge Botembe with a Class A misdemeanor. If that happens, McGrath said she's not sure where they'll keep him. The Champaign County Jail doesn't have a pressure-controlled cell required to keep a patient with an infectious disease. She said she hopes Wednesday's order is the end of the situation.

    After the hearing, Lyke said both he and his client declined to comment.
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