Five more California inmates have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease at San Quentin State Prison, as officials work to determine the source of the outbreak and minimize its spread, the state corrections department said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, water use is limited, prisoners are confined to their cells, meals are not being cooked at the prison, and inmate visiting has been suspended while health and prison officials work to manage the situation, said Dana Simas, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The Legionnaires’ disease scare hit San Quentin State Prison after an inmate tested positive for the disease on Thursday, prompting prison officials to carry out measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Prison officials in California turned off the water service at their facility after one of the inmates was hospitalized and others were sickened because of the waterborne illness known as Legionnaires’ disease.
The disease is considered a severe type of pneumonia, bringing high fever, chills and a cough.
Since discovering its first case August 26, the prison placed approximately 51 inmates under observation for the respiratory illness.
Drinking water was still being brought in as health officials tried to find the cause of the contamination.
“I think that us and the Marin County Public Health Department are responding quickly and appropriately to the incident and hope to resume normal operating procedures as soon as we are able to”, Simas said. An additional 2,800 liter bottles were also delivered to the prison, as well 380 gallons of water held in an assortment of makeshift containers. It is considered particularly unsafe for older people and those with underlying health issues.
Meanwhile, an inmate who was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease on Wednesday is hospitalized in stable condition.
Prison officials are communicating with the inmates’ advisory council, whose members have been cooperating. They said that the plumbed toilets are being used and water for cooking is also being monitored.
Portable shower units for the prisoners arrived at the complex on Saturday, they noted.
None of the penitentiary’s more than 1,200 workers have been sickened.
A similar outbreak in New York City was later linked to cooling towers in the south Bronx.