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| 29 Broward inmates suffer staph infections |
| By South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
| Published: 06/07/2004 |
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Twenty-nine inmates at Broward County (Fla.) jails are suffering from drug-resistant staph infections, and authorities say they are doing everything possible to keep the illness from spreading. As of Friday, May 28, 19 men and 10 women were diagnosed with the infection, which is caused by bacteria called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. The inmates are being treated at the North Jail infirmary in Pompano Beach, and they are expected to fully recover, Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said. One patient had been hospitalized because of other health issues. The infection was first identified May 10 in six inmates from another Pompano Beach jail and the stockade in Fort Lauderdale. Officials say the outbreak won't become an epidemic. He said the infections are limited to skin ailments. Over the past few weeks, Sheriff's Office officials met with inmates and jail deputies to educate them about the infection. Leljedal said jail officials are washing linens, towels and other laundry at 40 degrees above the normal wash temperature and using sufficient bleach to kill the bacteria. Dr. Tammy Blankenship, the health department's director of disease prevention and surveillance, said that officials from her agency walked through the infirmary and called the Sheriff's Office handling of the outbreak "exceptional." She said medical personnel were checking newly booked inmates for skin lesions, and jail officials were stressing good hygiene to deputies and inmates. Blankenship and Leljedal said this is the first outbreak of staph at Broward jails that they can recall. Last fall, more than 300 inmates at the Palm Beach County Jail and an assistant public defender were diagnosed with staph. |
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