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Santa Barbara issues arrest warrant for contagious man

August 23, 2014
Agustin Zeferino

Agustin Zeferino

Santa Barbara County health officials issued an arrest warrant Friday for a 24-year-old man suffering from tuberculosis who discontinued his medication. The man poses a public health risk, county officials said.

Agustin Zeferino, 24, had received medication for his illness, but then stopped his treatment about two weeks ago. Zeferino has drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is a highly contagious and rare form of the disease that can be spread by coughing or sneezing.

Even though tuberculosis can be cured with treatment, people with drug-resistant cases are required to continue taking medication for 18 to 24 months. In California, it is a misdemeanor to discontinue treatment ordered by a health official.

Last month, Kern County health officials ordered the arrest of Eduardo Rosas Cruz, 25, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis and refused treatment. He was arrested and quarantined until he agreed to treatment.


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Best to consider wearing a particulate mask in public these days, at least in crowds where you do not know many people. Many out there who do not have the means to eat well and need to work at least 2 jobs to survive-typically have lowered immune systems. This was once predicted as an outcome for our society. Largely overpopulated–we now see pandemics form and spread very quickly.


And in the meantime….have more kids. Keep having them until there are absolutely no resources left to go around and until it becomes so crowded…that looking for someone like this is like a needle in a haystack. And most of all: never stop to consider that your religion (the one that tells you to behave like an incubator and reproduce constantly) could possibly be a negative agenda. The church is absolutely in control of every woman’s reproductive rights, and she should just have children….and do what the church and her husband say to do.


We should continue to have children despite the fact they are being born faster than we can solve the riddle of ADD, ADHD, autism, etc. Never consider that your child may need to be medicated before they are out of elementary school….just….reproduce….mindlessly…


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This man is from northern Santa Barbara County and was last seen in Santa Maria, so he could possibly show up in our county. There is a drug resistant TB strain coming out of Oaxaca, Mexico and we have many Oaxacan farm workers along the Central Coast –from Santa Maria to Watsonville.


Personally, I’m most worried about school kids and TB. A Santa Maria high school student was found with regular TB last spring, and dirty crowded schools where kids share food and drinks would be a great place to spread any disease.


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This guy looks like he has a LOT more wrong with him other than TB!


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booking photographs bring out the best in us.


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Border security.


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disease is no respector

of the law. global warming creates new habitats for fair weather afflictions. HB


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@ Kevin,


You’re spot on. And many more like him flooding in every day.


Oh, and I might add that maybe ISIS, ISL, whatever they call themselves these days, also may be coming through. At the very least, islamic sympathizers. Oh wait… They’re here already. CAIR…”Council on American-Islamic Relations.


They bring something far worse than TB.


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is Grover Norquest part of that group too??


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@ zap,


At the very least, a sympathizer. IMHO….yes to your question.


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apparently this fellow is from Santa Barbara his TB is from the air . reviewing recent history shows people living outside OUR borders have more to fear from us than we do from them.


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Let’s get this straight…Mr. Zeferino was/is not required by federal and/or state law to be mandatorily confined and isolated while completing his medication protocol for this highly contagious, drug-resistant disease? So, with nothing holding him back, he decided to roam around the country willy-nilly? Great. Such good news for the overall well-being of our society.


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