HealthCalifornia: Viral Disease: Prison incubates and spreads Chicken Pox virus

The San Quentin prison is a government institution:  How did a disease like small pox, which can be quite deadly, get into the justice facility, how did it fester, how much did it spread and at what right of new infections each day?  The justice-system/health-epidemiology nexus is one of several critical junctures where disease can pass from one sphere to another virtually unnoticed. — Albert Gedraitis

Chickenpox outbreak

 

locks down 

San Quentin prison

October 30, 2012 11:11 AM

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San Quentin State Prison (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

SAN QUENTIN (CBS SF) – San Quentin State Prison is on a medical lockdown following an outbreak of chickenpox, according to published reports.

San Quentin News and San Rafael Patch report that all programs at the Marin County facility were canceled last weekend and no visitors were being allowed to enter the Marin County prison as medical staff attempted to determine how many inmates had contracted the virus, characterized by itchy skin irritation and blisters.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, complications adults can experience as a result of chicken pox, also known as varicella, include dehydration, pneumonia, blood, bone and joint infections as well as inflammation of the brain. Deaths associated to chicken pox are rare, but not unheard of, according to the CDC.

As of last month, there were 3,842 inmates housed at San Quentin. Prison officials gave no timetable for resumption of normal activities.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) Sorry, but this reproduction is fair use.

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