They weren't spider bites ...and that was very bad news for the thousands of inmates in the five Broward County Sheriff's Office jails in South Florida. 

Just a few weeks earlier, in February 2004, the local newspapers had been writing about a nasty infection invading the jails in Palm Beach County, north of Broward.  Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureas, or MRSA, had been a problem in healthcare settings like hospitals and clinics for about 20 years, but now was moving to a new group: jail inmates. 

Usually, the effects of MRSA are slight - a minor skin infection or lesion - and treatment is successful.  However, the "super bug" can also be resistant to some antibiotics and, if it's not caught in time, can quickly progress into a deadly infection in the blood or bones of its victims.  But the medical staff in the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Department of Detention did not let that happen.

"When that first prisoner showed up with a skin infection, lesions, we knew right away they weren't spider bites," said BSO Health Care Manager Carol Shepard.  "After we confirmed it was MRSA, we took action immediately to keep it from getting out of hand in our jails."

Shepard and her staff drew up a bulletin about MRSA, what it is, what it looks like, how it is usually spread, and more importantly, how to stop it from running wild.  The bulletin urges people to wash hands thoroughly and frequently, keep any cuts or wounds clean and covered and avoid contact with wounds or wound dressings from others. 

For several days, while Shepard and her crew worked on the rest of their plan, the MRSA bulletin was read to detention deputies at every roll call, to the administrative staff, and to maintenance workers and inmates.  Judges and attorneys who might come in contact with inmates were also warned of the potential dangers and what they should do to avoid being infected.  The information was not sugarcoated or ambiguous.  Nothing was left to chance because this was a very serious and potentially deadly situation.

By early May, the medical staff in the jails had found six suspected cases of MRSA.  The affected inmates were isolated in the jail's infirmary while the medical staff awaited the test results and began tracing every move the inmates had made: where they had slept, where they had eaten, how they had been transported to jail, and with whom they had had contact.  Every area where the  inmates had been was decontaminated, and an emergency meeting was called to make sure that every worker in the jails knew where the investigation stood.

When the test results on the half-dozen inmates came back positive for MRSA, the true gravity of the situation became even more sharply focused.  Every day, inmates were scheduled for release.  Every day, inmates were scheduled for court appearances.  Every day, inmates had visitors.  And every day, there was the real threat that the number of MRSA cases in Broward County jails could begin to explode. 

In order to win this battle, BSO detention managers knew they needed to form a strong alliance with county health officials.  Together, they reviewed the newly developed protocols to stop the potentially deadly  infection.  County health officials toured the jails, looking for any possible weak spots.  They looked at every thing from the MRSA isolation units and general inmate housing, to the cafeteria and recreation areas.  They measured the water temperature being used to launder inmate uniforms and bedding.  After careful review, county health officials determined that BSO's medical team was meeting and exceeding federal guidelines for treating and handling the MRSA outbreak.

While health officials and detention staff worked to keep MRSA in check, the Broward Sheriff's Office Media Relations Unit worked to inform the public. A news release went out to the media that described MRSA, how it was spread, how to stop it, how many inmates were infected, and what BSO was doing to combat it.  Day by day, as the situation in the jails changed, local reporters were given updates on BSO's efforts to fight MRSA's spread.

"We process nearly 80,000 people through our jails every year," said Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne.  "We had to attack the problem aggressively from the start.  The well-being of our inmates, our detention staff, the legal community, and our neighborhoods depended on it."

By late December 2004, the total number of confirmed MRSA cases in BSO jails was 278.  Many of those inmates were already infected when they were booked in Broward County and since BSO began aggressively fighting the problem, the number of new cases in the jails has been continuously dropping. 

"Finding out that we had a potentially deadly infection spreading in our jails was something we never expected," said Jenne.  "And even though we have it under control right now, it's going to be an ongoing challenge to keep it in check.  But the good news is, we've got a fantastic group of professionals who are up to the challenge."