Ireland: TB cases in Jails

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Source: http://www.herald.ie/news/fears-grow-as-second-jail-officer-catches-tb-2901100.html

Fears grow as second jail officer catches TB
By Charlie Mallon

Monday October 10 2011

A SECOND prison officer at a Dublin jail is being treated for potentially fatal tuberculosis.

The officer, who is in his late 40s, is based at Cloverhill remand prison where another officer was confirmed to have the disease last month.

Fears for the safety of staff and inmates at the west Dublin jail are now growing.

The first officer, who is in his 20s, was not diagnosed with TB following initial chest X-rays and was thought to have contracted meningitis...

...In the past officers have expressed their concerns about the roles of both the HSE and the Irish Prison Service in dealing with the TB issue at the jail and the duty of care onus on these bodies for prisoners and staff alike.

Eight cases of TB were confirmed in an outbreak of TB in June. Then, two prisoners were treated in hospital, while the remaining six were placed in an isolation unit at the jail...

...TB figures for 2009 show that 472 cases across Ireland were reported during the year -- a slight increase on the year before.

cmallon@herald.ie

- Charlie Mallon

 

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Re: Ireland: TB cases in Jails

Source: http://www.independent.ie/national-...n-prisons-as-warder-is-taken-ill-2913930.html

Concerns over TB in prisons as warder is taken ill
By Dearbhail McDonald, Fiona Ellis and Elaine Keogh

Saturday October 22 2011

FEARS of a deadly tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Irish prisons were growing last night after a prison officer was hospitalised with the potentially deadly disease, which he contracted from an inmate.

Another 30 prison officers have tested positive for exposure.

News of the infection came as it was revealed that patients in a Drogheda hospital have also been exposed to the disease.

An officer from Cloverhill Prison in Dublin is currently in a serious condition in hospital after contracting the deadly disease.

Around 45 prison guards who were in contact with the infected prisoner have been screened for the disease and 30 have tested positive for exposure to TB.

Cloverhill is the country's leading remand prison and there are fears that inter-prison transfers could have spread the infection further.

It is understood that one prison officer in the midlands is currently being treated for TB.

During the summer, a prisoner detained at Cloverhill was diagnosed with TB.

After he fell ill, a number of staff were checked for symptoms. Since then, several members of staff took sick and were diagnosed with TB.

Deadly

After the hospitalisation of the prison officer this week, 45 members of staff underwent screening tests...

 

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Re: Ireland: TB cases in Jails

Source: http://www.herald.ie/news/jail-officers-sleeping-in-garage-over-tb-outbreak-2920840.html

Jail officers sleeping in garage over TB outbreak
CRISIS: Staff fear infecting families
By Charlie Mallon

Saturday October 29 2011

Prison officers from Cloverhill jail are being banned from their own homes because of the TB health scare, the Herald can reveal.

Some staff members are being forced to sleep on camp beds in their garages as families seek to protect themselves from the deadly infection.

That is the claim being made by senior Cloverhill sources today as the health authorities refuse to meet the demands of officers and prisoners for full scale testing...