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| Staph infection outbreak bedevils county jail |
| By Palm Beach Post |
| Published: 04/05/2004 |
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By the time the open sore appeared on Robert McGrath's back at the Palm Beach County (Fla.) Jail, officials there already knew an outbreak of highly contagious staph bacteria was running through the cellblocks. Still, McGrath said, jail medical personnel told him on Feb. 9 that it was only a spider bite and not to worry about it. Then it swelled to the size of a softball, with an open pit the size of a quarter. "This thing felt like there was a knife in my back," said McGrath, who spent 38 days behind bars for driving repeatedly on a suspended license. "Let me tell you, this is no bite." McGrath, of Boynton Beach, is one of a growing number of inmates at the county jail diagnosed with staph infection, according to documents. Almost all of the cases are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a type of staph that is resistant to most antibiotics. MRSA was detected at the jail in late summer. It infected a total of 140 inmates between September and December, with a high of 54 infections at one time in November. But the problem has not abated. Since Jan. 1, there have been 198 cases, according to the Palm Beach County Health Department, for a total of 338 cases since September. There were 43 active cases last week, said Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the county health department. The main detention center on Gun Club Road has about 1,600 inmates, with a capacity of 2,100. As health and jail officials try to get the outbreak under control, inmates such as McGrath say they are being released with the infection. McGrath was released from jail March 10. O'Connor said it is up to the inmate to follow up on care once released from jail. "I don't think there is evidence it's being spread through the community," he said. "We're watching it, too, as we would be concerned if it was spread." MRSA infections are rising throughout the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. They are usually mild, superficial infections. MRSA, however, can be difficult to treat and can progress to life-threatening blood or bone infections, the CDC says. In the meantime, inmates with staph have been isolated in a unit near the jail's medical wing. Because this form of staph can be passed on easily by touching an infected person's clothing or sharing a towel, O'Connor said the jail has been advised to check whether towels are being dried at a high enough temperature to kill staph. |
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