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| Penn. County Inmates Harboring Staph Infection at Prison |
| By The Morning Call |
| Published: 09/09/2002 |
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Thirty-one inmates at the Bucks County Prison were to undergo physical examinations Wednesday after testing positive to colonizing a staph infection resistant to common modes of treatment. In addition, one corrections officer tested positive to colonizing methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA. Commissioner Michael G. Fitzpatrick said the staff member has been advised to seek treatment from his family physician. Commissioners announced lab results of 1,115 nasal swabs performed last week on inmates and staff members at the county prison and two work-release sites in Doylestown Township. The inmates who tested positive included nine women and 22 men. Barbara Schellhorn, director of personal health services for the Bucks County Health Department, said that if physical examinations find lesions on the inmates' bodies, the prisoners will be isolated and their blood tested to determine if they have been infected with staph. If no lesions are found, she said, the inmates will be permitted to remain in the general population and no restrictions will be placed on their activities. Fitzpatrick said the 32 people who tested positive represent about 3 percent of the staff members and inmates at the jail - well below the estimated maximum 33 percent that state health department officials told the county to expect when testing began. People who test positive to colonizing MRSA don't necessarily show symptoms. A Mississippi prison that experienced a MRSA outbreak three years ago found that about a third of the inmates and staff members who tested positive eventually showed symptoms. MRSA does not respond to treatment with methicillin, an antibiotic commonly used to stop staph infections. MRSA can lead to skin ailments, such as boils or lesions, or to blood infections. It also can cause pneumonia. |
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