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| Pelican Bay inmates isolated |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/03/2005 |
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Some Pelican Bay State Prison inmates in California have been isolated and employees are taking extra precautions for fear of spreading an antibiotic-resistant strain of staph bacteria, Department of Corrections officials said last Thursday. About four inmates each month for the last year have been treated for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly called MRSA, said spokeswoman Margot Bach. One inmate is currently undergoing treatment. Four correctional officers at the prison near Crescent City have filed claims alleging they suffered exposure, but one was determined to have a different infection. The remaining three are being reviewed by the State Compensation Insurance Fund. An officer died Dec. 20 from complications of a stroke, pneumonia and diabetes, not MRSA as some officers had feared, Bach said. The problem became an issue this fall in a federal judge's ongoing oversight of problems at Pelican Bay, but the infection alleged by an officer in that case turned out to be a different disease, said Bach and California Correctional Peace Officers Association Vice President Lance Corcoran. The prison system suffers periodic sporadic outbreaks of MRSA, Bach said. Prisons are particularly vulnerable because so many people are jammed into tight quarters, and inmates suffer from more health problems than the general population, she said. |
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