Outbreak of invasive pneumococcal disease in a jail - Texas, 1989
Article Abstract:
Within a one-month period, 17 male inmates at a Texas prison developed bacterial pneumococcal infections, and two eventually died. Fourteen of the 17 prisoners had underlying medical conditions, such as alcoholism, intravenous-drug abuse, chronic liver disease, and lack of a spleen. The prison itself was overcrowded, and the cases of pneumococcal infection occurred on seven of the ten floors where prisoners lived. Vaccination was offered to all prisoners, and those infected were treated with antibiotics. Pneumococcal outbreaks rarely occur in the general population, but they have been observed in shelters for homeless men. Crowding and a history of serious diseases such the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and alcoholism contribute to the outbreak of pneumococcal infections. The epidemiology of pneumococcal infections in institutions, such as prisons, needs to be investigated.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Tuberculosis transmission in a state correctional institution - California, 1990-1991
Article Abstract:
Twenty inmates at a California state correctional institute were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) between Sep and Oct 1991. Ten apparently developed active TB after they entered the facility. This would make the TB incidence at the institution more than 10 times the rate in the California population. Two of these inmates had a negative tuberculin skin test when they were admitted and neither had any risk factors for TB. Results of tuberculin skin tests were available for 2,944 inmates; 30% had a positive test. Over 300 of these had never before tested positive. TB can spread quickly in prisons because most prisons are overcrowded and have poor ventilation. Inmates should be tested regularly for TB and those who develop the disease should be promptly treated and isolated if need be. This is now required by law in California.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Hepatitis B Outbreak in a State Correctional Facility, 2000
Article Abstract:
A cluster of hepatitis B cases was discovered in a prison in March, 2000. Of 97 inmates tested at one dormitory, six had newly acquired hepatitis B, one had chronic hepatitis B, and 16 had a prior infection. Most had no symptoms and only blood tests revealed the infection.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 2001
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Exposure to Patients With Meningococcal Disease on Aircraft--United States, 1999-2001. HIV and AIDS--United States, 1981-2000
- Abstracts: Protein-based PCR for prion diseases? Gynecologic diseases get their genes. Angiotensin II and EGF receptor cross-talk in chronic kidney diseases: A new therapeutic approach
- Abstracts: Replication-selective virotherapy for cancer: biological principles, risk management and future directions. Smallpox, polio and now a cancer vaccine?
- Abstracts: The cost-effectiveness of treating women with a cervical vaginal smear diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance
- Abstracts: Analysis of prognostic factors in stage I epithelial ovarian carcinoma: importance of degree of differentiation and deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy in predicting relapse