San Quentin Prison Officials Still Searching For Source Of Legionnaires’ Outbreak
More than 100 inmates of this state prison in California are sick, and the Los Angeles Times reports that an environmental consultant has been brought in to try to pinpoint the source of the disease.
Los Angeles Times:
Legionnaires' Outbreak Grows, Keeping San Quentin Locked Down
An environmental consultant has been brought into the hunt for the source of Legionnaires' disease at San Quentin state prison. After six days of testing, officials still do not know what caused the outbreak that has left more than 100 inmates sick and the sprawling historic prison in near-lockdown. Showers and drinking water have been shut off since a prisoner was diagnosed with the severe illness Thursday. In addition, prison officials said they are consulting daily with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the state health department. (St. John, 9/2)
The New York Times:
San Quentin Prison Scrambles After Outbreak Of Legionnaires’ Disease
The thick walls of San Quentin State Prison contain thousands of criminals housed deep within a rambling complex on the edge of San Francisco Bay. But since last week, when the first of six prisoners tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease, those ramparts seem to have also turned the prison into a petri dish. An outbreak of the disease has reverberated from death row to solitary confinement, with 95 additional inmates reporting the infection’s pneumonialike symptoms in the last few days, though none of them have received an official diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease. (Nir, 9/2)