No source found for TB scare at state prison

No active tuberculosis cases have been found at Nevada State Prison, and the eight correctional officers who tested positive last month for the germ that causes TB were cleared of the disease.

But the source of the outbreak, which includes 17 Nevada State Prison inmates whose TB skin tests also came back positive, still remains elusive, a top prison official said Wednesday. He said the number of positive TB tests "was a big surprise."

One prison inmate who is Samoan was transported to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center Tuesday and quarantined. Since TB is an airborne illness that spreads within confined areas, officials said they aren't taking any chances.

"We have no way of knowing if it originated from him yet," said Department of Corrections Medical Director Dr. Ted D'Amico.

He said it's significant that this prisoner is from the South Pacific, where living conditions are much different, and can lead to the spread of diseases such as TB. He said this inmate had a suspicious chest X-ray, so doctors are collecting sputum samples to get a more clear indication of his condition.

D'Amico said the 17 inmates with positive skin test results will be released from isolation if their chest X-rays come back clear. The prisoners will then be placed on treatment for six months and will be checked monthly. D'Amico said those prisoners are not contagious, he just put them in isolation to ease the fears of other inmates.

No prisoners have been transferred out since the cases were found, but Fritz Schlottman, administrator of the offender management division, said the freeze will be lifted if the chest X-rays come back clear.

At a town hall meeting inside the gymnasium at the Nevada State Prison, Dr. D'Amico told 350 inmates he doesn't know where the germ came from, if a visitor bought it in, or an inmate came in infected.

"I don't know where it's coming from," the doctor said. "It's like CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). I'm trying to figure it out."

Inmates are usually tested for TB in May, but it was done earlier because of results from the correctional officers' annual tests. In the next two weeks, all 11,000 prisoners in the state correctional system will receive TB skin tests. D'Amico said Nevada State Prison inmates will be tested for TB again in three months just to be safe.

Nevada State Prison hasn't had a TB scare since one active case was found seven years ago. That inmate was successfully treated.

During the town hall meeting, an inmate asked why so many correctional officers and inmates tested positive if still no person with active TB has been found.

"If I knew that I'd be home right now," D'Amico said.

n Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.