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| Prison Confirms 13 Swine Flu Cases |
| By miamiherald.com/ |
| Published: 06/30/2009 |
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South Miami-Dade prison confirms 13 swine flu cases Health officials confirmed that 13 female inmates at Homestead Correctional Institution have swine flu and one has been hospitalized. BY Fred Tasker-ftasker@MiamiHerald.com An outbreak of swine flu at a South Miami-Dade women's prison has infected 13 inmates and hospitalized one, health officials said Friday. Homestead Correctional Institution has suspended visits and stopped accepting or releasing prisoners. The development came as federal officials on Friday talked about plans for a possible fall vaccination campaign that could involve an unprecedented 600 million doses of vaccine. ''The flu is not going away,'' said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said the official U.S. count of 27,717 cases of H1N1 flu is ''really just the tip of the iceberg,'' and the true count may be as high as one million cases. In a Friday news briefing, Schuchat urged local communities to start planning now to vaccinate their most vulnerable residents -- those under 25, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions -- next fall, if federal health officials decide it's necessary. Still, Schuchat said the swine flu remains mild so far. The cases at Homestead Correctional Institution were confirmed between June 19 and Thursday, said Dr. Fermin Leguen, epidemiologist for the Miami-Dade Health Department. Most of the cases are mild, he said. VISITS ON HOLD Social visits have been suspended, and confirmed cases from all five dormitories are being housed in one area separate from other inmates, according to Jo Ellyn Rackleff, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections. The facility is not receiving or releasing inmates, she said. The facility was built in 1976 or house minimum- and medium-security male inmates, but turned into a female facility in 1999. Inmates are serving terms for such felonies as grand theft, credit card fraud, aggravated battery, second-degree murder and cocaine sale. Maximum capacity is listed on its website as 668; it lists the current population as 678. Rackleff said no swine flu has been reported at other state prisons in Florida. A smaller outbreak two weeks ago resulted in similar precautions at the federal Krome detention center, where family visits and inmate intake and release remain suspended. One more case was confirmed Friday at the West Dade facility -- a staff member -- bringing its total to six. An additional 20 detainees have flu-like symptoms, but cannot be tested for swine flu because they have been given antiviral medicine, which invalidates such testing.Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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