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The victim of a rare strain of nearly-untreatable tuberculosis, a twenty-seven year old has been living his life in a jail cell since last July. In a room behind the Phoenix county hospital, Robert Daniels receives worse treatment than many criminals sentenced to isolation. As our world continues to globalize, the threat of XDR-TB and other "extensively drug-resistant" diseases is worsening. In cases akin to Daniels', doctors and medical officials feel the responsibility to make the proper decision regarding the sufferer's care. Criticism begins to mount, however, when a patient becomes the recipient of punishment—not for an immoral act, but for simply catching a contagious and incurable illness.
Isolating a victim of XDR-TB from human contact (aside from those who administer medication) is an unethical act in itself. At the very least, a person who is forced to live alone, in a bleak cell, indefinitely, should be allotted visitation by family members. Even prison inmates are granted this basic right. Robert Daniels was placed in isolation not because he did not wish to cooperate with medical officials; he was simply unaware of his disease's severe implications. Now fully aware of the consequences should he choose not to wear a mask, does not Daniels deserve the chance to be released and allowed to take all proper precautions, while attempting to function in society as a living, breathing, respected individual?
Although doctors and health officials are unaware of an alternative to complete isolation, there must be an option for individuals who do not have any intent of endangering their fellow individuals. If, for the time being, wearing a mask is the only way for victims to avoid spreading the disease, so be it; however, a person with the XDR-TB deserves to be told about their disease before he or she is automatically thrown into the category of people who do not wish to cooperate with authority. After being diagnosed with the disease last year, Daniels came to America with the hope of acquiring medical treatment and one day bring his wife and children from Russia to join him. He lived in Russia for fifteen years prior to his big move and was locked up after less than a year in the US.
The knowledge of this case and the continuation of similar occurrences are disheartening. We can only hope for a cure, as we hope for solutions to a number of other diseases presently dubbed untreatable. Until then, a compromise must be reached in order to protect victims from utter alienation, while simultaneously preventing others from being infected.
