18 June 2013 (21:55 UTC-07 Tango 17 June 2013)/09 Sha’ban 1434/28 Khordad 1391/11 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

“We need to be more educated because we’ve had contact with him. Does it affect us? Do we need to do any testing?”-neighbor of man detained

Government officials in the U.S. state of South Carolina are implementing Title 44-Health, Chapter 31, Article 2 THE EMERGENCY DETENTION AND COMMITMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS law.

One man has already been detained under the law.  Nearly 100 people have been infected with TB, considered the worst TB outbreak in South Carolina since 2003.  However, only the one man has been detained, and reports say he could be in medical detention for months.

He’s being called “Patient A” by health officials, and they say he was detained for refusing to co-operate with medical personnel.  A neighbor of the detained man questions his detention, saying he seemed healthy before he was detained by authorities.  She also said the Department of Health and Environmental Control are not providing any details about the TB outbreak, causing a lot of people to wonder.

State officials defend themselves saying they’re looking for someone who can represent the detained man, before they’ll give out any info.

Local news reports say the man is a janitor at a school where the TB outbreak began.   Many parents are upset with Department of Health and Environmental Control, because the DHEC is not giving out info concerning the TB outbreak at the school.  The outbreak at the school apparently began in March, and has since spread.

Local news reports also say neighbors of the detained man have seen many people going in and out of the man’s house.  A local reporter tried to question one of those people, but was rebuffed.

DHEC officials said the detained man could challenge his detention in court, but hellooo, how can the man get a lawyer when he’s already in medical detention?  Sounds like Medical Martial Law to me.