Inmates quarantined at county jail
Friday, March 3, 2006 11:35 PM PST
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleA staph infection outbreak at the Cowlitz County Jail has led officials to segregate a handful of inmates and conduct a precautionary sanitization of the entire facility.
Two inmates have tested positive for the MRSA skin infection and officials are still awaiting test results on seven more, said Sue Grinnell, director of the Cowlitz County Health Department.
MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, which causes bacterial infections that most often lead to skin infections or abscess. It often looks like a spider bite or boil, but infections can redden and fill with puss.
MRSA can be spread through skin-to-skin conduct or by sharing personal items, but it is not considered a reportable infectious disease like meningitis or pertussis.
The infection appears occasionally in jails, hospitals and other communal living situations, but health officials were alerted based on the sudden concentration of possible cases, Dan Price, executive director of the county's corrections department, said Friday.
Jail medical staff were treating one case all week. But when a second appeared Thursday that required a trip to the St. John Medical Center emergency department, they decided to examine all 270 inmates, Price said.
Thirty-nine inmates were segregated into one part of the jail Thursday night based on skin irregularities, but most were cleared Friday after being examined by health department workers, he said.
The remaining seven segregated inmates are being watched by medical staff and given medication if prescribed, Price said.
Jail staff are used to dealing with the infection and its treatment, he said. So Price doesn't anticipate any problems handling the outbreak.
"It's basically two weeks worth of antibiotics and some other common sense health care precautions," he said.
Jail staff routinely wear gloves when in contact with inmates and wash their hands after each contact to avoid just such infections.
In addition, the entire jail is being sanitized, including all the bedding, towels and clothing. Sharing clothing or towels is one way to spread the infection. With roughly 270 inmates it will take a day or two for all the cleaning to be completed, but Price said it is well underway.
The incident caused some commotion Thursday as inmates were shifted throughout the jail, but Price said there were few problems and things had returned to normal by Friday afternoon. Visits with inmates aren't allowed during the day Friday and by the time evening visitation hours started the jail was cleared for visitors.
Grinnell said the outbreak is an excellent educational opportunity for the public, since the infection is in the general community.
"We know it is out there, we see it in our syringe exchange clients and elsewhere," Grinnell said. "And it's in other communities as well."
The key to avoiding a serious infection is to practice good hygiene and contact a doctor if you notice something out of the ordinary. Some boils may need to be lanced or drained, but Grinnell said it generally can be handled with regular doctors visit, not a trip to the emergency room.
MRSA Facts and Figures
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus is a germ that often lives in the noses and on the skin of healthy people, but it can lead to an infection and abscess, particularly if introduced to broken skin.
It is resistant to all but high doses of certain antibiotics.
It generally appears as a skin infection that looks like a pimple, spider bite or boil that can redden or swell with puss. It also can cause serious infections of the joints and blood, pneumonia and, in rare cases, death.
If you notice swelling, redness or puss, call your doctor for an appointment.
How to avoid infection:
• Always practice good hygiene, always washing your hands thoroughly if you're around someone who is infected.
• Keep cuts or scrapes clean and covered with bandages, and avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages.
• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, razors, clothing and bedding.
Source: federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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