Indiana: Inmate dies after viral outbreak at Putnamville Correctional Facility; several hospitalized - H1N1 flu strain responsible

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/l...ional-facility

Inmate dies after viral outbreak at Putnamville Correctional Facility
TheIndyChannel.com Staff
4:31 PM, Jan 24, 2016
1 hour ago

INDIANAPOLIS -- One inmate at Putnamville Correctional Facility has died after a viral outbreak at the prison.

The superintendent of the prison says 18 patients began to show flu or pneumonia-like symptoms at the beginning of last week...

...Nine were sent to Terre Haute Regional Hospital after their symptoms got worse. One of those patients died last Friday. Another is on a ventilator...

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Offender at Putnamville Correctional dies from flu-like symptoms

POSTED 4:26 PM, JANUARY 24, 2016, BY JIM SCOTT

PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. (January 24, 2016)–An offender at the Putnamville Correctional Facility has died after being diagnosed with rapidly progressive flu-like symptoms.

Another man is hospitalized and is on a ventilator for support.

Indiana Correction officials say they are dealing with an outbreak of patients with progressive viral like symptoms with several patients progressing to severe shortness of breath and pneumonia like symptoms.
...
Currently, nine offenders are undergoing close observation at Terre Haute Regional Hospital and a similar number are being treated at the medical observation unit at the correctional facility.

...

http://fox59.com/2016/01/24/offender...like-symptoms/

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CDC helping Indiana officials investigate inmate illnesses

Posted: Monday, January 25, 2016 12:13 pm
Associated Press |

GREENCASTLE, Ind. (AP) ? Federal health officials are helping their Indiana counterparts investigate flu-like illnesses at a state prison that have killed one inmate and left several others hospitalized.

State Department of Health spokeswoman Jennifer O'Malley says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will perform specialized testing to support the state agency's testing of specimens collected from the ailing inmates.

O'Malley says the CDC has also provided guidance on testing and infection control at the Putnamville Correctional Facility.
...

http://www.ccenterdispatch.com/news/state/article_d6bc79d1-9137-558f-8191-ce628ad0df49.html

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Coroner: Prison inmate appears to have died from pneumonia

Associated Press
Published: January 25, 2016, 6:11 pm

PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. (AP) ? A coroner says preliminary autopsy results on an inmate at an Indiana prison that?s facing an outbreak of a severe, flu-like illness suggest that man died of pneumonia.

Vigo County Coroner Dr. Susan Amos said Monday the official cause of death of the Putnamville Correctional Facility inmate has not been determined and test results are pending.
...
The medium-security prison that?s about 35 miles west of Indianapolis said in a Monday statement that 14 inmates are hospitalized at Terre Haute Regional Hospital and four of them are in intensive care.
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http://wlfi.com/2016/01/25/coroner-prison-inmate-appears-to-have-died-from-pneumonia/

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Updated: 7:19 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 | Posted: 7:19 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, 2016

Inmate died from pneumonia after prison sickness outbreak

By RICK CALLAHAN
The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS ? ...

While preliminary autopsy results suggest the man died from pneumonia, Vigo County Coroner Dr. Susan Amos said testing is ongoing to determine what type of infection he was stricken with.
...
The prison said that 14 inmates had been hospitalized at Terre Haute Regional Hospital and four were in intensive care.

Another 11 inmates were under observation in the prison's hospital. The facility suspended visits with inmates last week.

Terre Haute Regional Hospital said in a statement Monday that it was treating 17 inmates, one of them in critical condition, and the 16 others in good condition. Some of those in good condition could be released soon, the hospital said. It wasn't clear if this accounted for the difference in numbers hospitalized from the prison and the hospital.

The hospital said the inmates being treated are "in a high level of clinical isolation from other patients," but it was discouraging people who are ill, frail or under age 18 from visiting the hospital.
...
Prison staff were replacing about 75 air-handling filters and providing masks and hand sanitizer to inmates and staff who request those. All common areas are also being cleaned with a bleach solution.

- See more at: http://www.whio.com/ap/ap/indiana/cd....HZY3FpNK.dpuf

[Treyfish]

The IDOC has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26 .. [link to wishtv.com]

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Prison ?Flu-Like? Outbreak Worsens: 18 Hospitalized, 1 Dead

By NETWORK INDIANA
Posted January 25, 2016

In a statement released Monday night the Indiana Department of Correction confirmed the flu-like virus is spreading.

As of Monday night 18 inmates are at the Terre Haute Regional Hospital and four of those are in the ICU unit. Eleven inmates are in the health care unit at the Putnamville Correctional Facility and five other prisoners are under observation.

Brian Smith, Putnamville Correctional Facility Superintendent and Dr. Michael Mitcheff, IDOC Medical Director plan to address the media Tuesday afternoon at a press conference in Greencastle.
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http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/dead-inmates-hospitalized-flu-symptoms-92755/

[alert]

http://www.tribstar.com/news/fewer-i...ca67a8c49.html A decrease in the number of hospitalized inmates has been reported this morning at Putnamville Correctional Facility, where one inmate recently died due to pneumonia.
Public Information Officer Elesha Hidalgo reports that as of this morning, there are 15 patients in the observation unit at the facility, as well as 13 total at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, with two of those patients in the intensive care unit.





On Monday, the facility reported 25 patients under observation, 11 in the healthcare unit, 14 at the hospital and four in the ICU.
A news conference is planned for 1 p.m. today with prison Superintendent Brian Smith and Dr. Michael Mitcheff, who is medical director of the Indiana Department of Correction.


A health crisis at the medium security prison was announced Sunday, after several inmates came down with progressive viral-like symptoms and several patients rapidly progressed to severe shortness of breath and pneumonia-like symptoms.


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(The articles keep using the word "viral", but other than influenza, many of the obvious candidates are actually bacterial. - alert)

[Pathfinder]

One inmate dead, others being treated for flu symptoms at Indiana prison

By Ashley Fantz, CNN
Updated 9:57 AM ET, Tue January 26, 2016

...
The inmate who died was "already in fragile condition" before he got sick, Randolph said. An autopsy has been performed and results should be known Tuesday, he said.

In accordance with federal privacy law, the deceased prisoner's name is not being released, Randolph said, but the man is a Mexican national. Mexican authorities have been notified and are expected to retrieve the body to give back to the inmate's family.

Prisoners began exhibiting symptoms on Friday, Randolph said.

"It seemed to spread quickly," he said. "When you have a lot of inmates in various states of health with various backgrounds, it can be hard to pick up patterns, but this was clearly spreading. It was clear we had a problem."
...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/health/indiana-prison-inmates-sick/

[Pathfinder]

Influenza virus hits inmates in Indiana prison, officials say

By Ashley Fantz, CNN
Updated 2:35 PM ET, Tue January 26, 2016

(CNN)An influenza outbreak at a western Indiana prison has sickened more than 20 inmates and is believed to have contributed to the death of one prisoner, officials said Tuesday.

The H1N1 flu strain is responsible for the outbreak, said Dr. Michael Mitcheff, the Department of Corrections' chief medical officer...

About 35 inmates developed flu-like symptoms at the Putnamville Correctional Facility near Greencastle, Indiana Department of Corrections spokesman Ike Randolph said.

There are 13 inmates at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, including two in the facility's intensive care one, Mitcheff said. One man is having respiration difficulty and has been placed on a ventilator. The other has a low white blood cell count, which suggests that he could have pneumonia.

At least two members of the prison staff have gotten sick and been treated, Mitcheff said.
...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/health/indiana-prison-inmates-sick/

[Shiloh]

Source: http://wlfi.com/2016/01/26/indiana-p...-flu-outbreak/

Indiana prison flu outbreak has killed 1, sickened dozens
Associated Press Published: January 26, 2016, 2:57 pm Updated: January 26, 2016, 6:00 pm

PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. (AP) ? A flu outbreak at a western Indiana prison that killed one inmate and has sickened nearly three dozen others is caused by the same swine flu strain that caused a global pandemic several years ago, state officials said Tuesday.

Officials also said the 35-year-old inmate who died Friday at a Terre Haute hospital after falling ill at the Putnamville Correctional Facility was also infected with the so-called superbug MRSA ? the staph infection methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

That, combined with the influenza virus, ?added fuel to the fire? when the man became sick last week and his condition deteriorated quickly, said Michael Mitcheff, chief medical officer for the Indiana Department of Correction. Preliminary autopsy results released Monday had suggested the man, a Mexican national who had been at the prison since last May or June, had died from pneumonia.

State epidemiologist Pam Pontones said the sick inmates were infected with the H1N1 swine flu strain, which first emerged in 2009...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.journalgazette.net/news/l...break-11274039


February 02, 2016 11:39 AM
Operations normal at Indiana prison after flu outbreak

GREENCASTLE, Ind. (AP) ? State officials say normal operations will resume Tuesday at a western Indiana prison where a flu outbreak sickened nearly three dozen and killed one.

The Indiana Department of Corrections said early Tuesday that visitations at Putnamville Correctional Facility will resume and inmates will be allowed to participate in job and program assignments. Officials say one inmate remains infected in the intensive care unit at Terre Haute Regional Hospital and five offenders remain at the prison's health care unit observation area...