Woman charged for spreading COVID-19, killing others
Key Takeaways
An Austrian woman has been found guilty of negligent homicide after infecting a neighbor with COVID-19.
Virological testing after the neighbor’s death showed a DNA match between COVID-19 virus in the defendant and her neighbor.
The woman faced similar charges in a 2023 case.
An Austrian woman has been found guilty of fatally infecting her neighbor with COVID-19. The ruling marks the woman’s second COVID-related offense.[] In the summer of 2023, she was charged with intentionally endangering others through communicable diseases. She was sentenced to three months suspended imprisonment, but she was acquitted of grossly negligent homicide. Last week, a judge found her guilty of grossly negligent homicide for another transmission incident.
The woman was accused of transmitting COVID-19 to her neighbor, who had cancer, in 2021. Due to Austrian privacy rules, the woman's and her neighbor's names have not been released.
The neighbor later died of COVID-linked pneumonia. Virological testing showed that the virus DNA in the deceased neighbor and the accused woman was a match. This allowed experts to assert that the defendant had “almost 100%” transmitted the infection.
Going to trial
During the trial, the judge heard testimony from the deceased’s family, who stated that the neighbors had met in a stairwell on December 21, 2021, when the defendant would have known she had COVID-19. They said that this interaction caused the transmission.[]
Neal Flomenberg, MD, Chief Scientific Officer at Tevogen Bio, says that brief interactions can easily spread infectious respiratory conditions such as COVID-19. “While some viruses require more direct contact, others, particularly respiratory tract viruses, can be quite easily spread. Being sneezed on, coughed on, or even simply breathed on can be enough to send minute viral particles through the air from one person to the next,” he says.
The woman, now 54, denied these charges, claiming that she had not been out of bed all day because she was ill. Additionally, she claimed that she was unaware she had COVID-19. Instead, she believed she was fighting a case of bronchitis, an infection she reportedly experienced annually.[]
However, these claims were refuted by the woman’s physician. He told local authorities that the woman had tested positive for COVID-19. According to the physician, after receiving her rapid test results, the woman remarked that she “certainly won’t let herself be locked up.”
Speaking to the defendant, the judge stated, “I feel sorry for you personally -- I think that something like this has probably happened hundreds of times…But you are unlucky that an expert has determined with almost absolute certainty that it was an infection that came from you.”
The judge sentenced the woman to four months suspended imprisonment. She will also have to pay an €800 fine (about $886.75). However, this verdict is not yet final.
When is transmitting a virus a crime?
The idea that virus transmission can sometimes be a criminal offense isn’t new. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, some health experts argued that laws criminalizing transmission could be beneficial. In a March 2020 memo, United States Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said that intentionally exposing and infecting other people with COVID-19 could potentially “implicate the Nation’s terrorism-related statutes.”[2] In April 2020, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt released a public statement warning that purposeful transmission of COVID-19 to healthcare workers could result in criminal prosecution, including life imprisonment.[]
Even before the pandemic, the transmission of viral infection as a criminal act had been an ongoing conversation. Notably, as of 2023, exposing others to HIV can lead to prosecution in 34 US states and in multiple nations worldwide.[] In 13 states, it’s a crime not to share one’s HIV-positive status with sexual partners. In some states, violating laws related to HIV exposure can result in life imprisonment. Some states also include other STDs in these laws.
Many of these laws, however, have become outdated as treatments for HIV have improved and as our understanding of the virus has increased. Thirteen states have updated or repealed their laws since 2014. Changes have included provisions for advances such as PrEP use, as well as clearer definitions of intent to transmit.
Federal isolation and quarantine
There are currently 10 communicable diseases that the federal government lists as requiring isolation and quarantine.[] Federal, state, and local authorities are authorized to help enforce these regulations. Breaking a federal isolation and quarantine law is punishable by fines and imprisonment. Diseases currently subject to federal regulation include:
Cholera
Diphtheria
Infectious tuberculosis
Plague
Smallpox
Yellow fever
Viral hemorrhagic fevers
Severe acute respiratory syndromes
Flu that can cause a pandemic
Measles
Viral infections can transmit easily from one patient to another. Dr. Flomenberg says that although some patients may believe that taking precautions is no longer necessary, this isn’t the reality.
“Some members of society unfortunately feel that if they don’t have to quarantine or wear a mask, or as long as their social life isn’t compromised, the issue is resolved. This is not true for the vulnerable amongst us who may be infected by these very same individuals.” “Perhaps the freshness of the COVID experience will get us to take this issue more seriously in general,” he adds.
What this means for you
Educating patients on infection control and the importance of mitigation, such as staying home when sick and receiving vaccines, can help. Michael Loeffelholz, PhD, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Cepheid, says that awareness of symptoms can be key to reducing spread.
“People need to be more aware of even mild symptoms from a respiratory virus infection—runny nose, scratchy or sore throat, to name a couple—and take measures to avoid spreading the virus to others, such as washing their hands often, wearing a mask, and avoiding close contact with others.”