The Record
Published Tuesday, May 23, 2006
TRACY – The number of prison inmates with flulike symptoms continues to rise statewide, but no more inmates at Deuel Vocational Institution have become sick, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman said Monday.
At least 1,300 inmates at 10 prisons have fallen ill in the past week, corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.
Tests at Tracy’s Deuel and Ione’s Mule Creek State Prison found the culprit to be campylobacter, a bacterium spread through contaminated food and water. Prison officials have enlisted state health officials’ help in finding the bacterium’s source, Thornton said.
The outbreak began last week at Deuel, where the number of inmates suffering from fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea peaked Friday at 379.
Other affected prisons are Valley State Prison for Women; Central California Women’s Facility; Wasco State Prison; Folsom State Prison; California Rehabilitation Center; Sierra Conservation Center; California State Prison, Sacramento; and California Rehabilitation Center.