The Enhanced Sentence
California prison inmates have something to look forward to: a brand new prison, one with an added bonus. The site selected by the state just happens to be located in an area loaded with spores that lead to coccidiomycosis or "Valley Fever," according to an article in yesterday's Sacramento Bee.
Public health officials are recommending that California hold off on new prison construction in the southern San Joaquin Valley because it will expose an untold number of inmates to potentially fatal valley fever. ...
Valley fever is a disease that results from molds that grow in the region's soil. When stirred up by construction or other means, such as wind or earthquakes, its airborne spores can lodge in the lungs and create symptoms ranging from a mild viral illness to respiratory failure. It can also cause skin lesions and bone problems.
Last year, more than 500 valley fever cases were reported at the 5,000-inmate Pleasant Valley State Prison in Fresno County. Four inmates at the prison died of valley fever in 2005.
As a result, health professionals and researchers submitted a report urging the state not to add prison beds "in the hyperendemic area," where valley fever spores are prevalent. They also suggested that the state evaluate exposure to the disease and "consider relocating all inmates" from Pleasant Valley if it can't fix the problem. ...
Inmates last year made up two-thirds of all the valley fever cases in Fresno and Kings counties, according to the report to the receiver. MacLean, the Kings County health official, said a key factor is that "prisoners are put in that risk by state policy." [Emphasis added]
What kind of bonehead made the decision to locate the prison in such an area, not once, but twice? Yes, our prisons are overcrowded, but come on, folks. Putting a prison up in such a place only complicates the other major problem our penal system faces, inadequate health care for inmates. I'm sure the feds who have already looked into the California prisons will be delighted with this latest news.
Note: For more information on just how tricky coccidiomycosis can be to treat and to live with, go here. The disease can be devastating:
More serious infections tend to develop in those whose immune system is compromised from AIDS or cancer. Those with AIDS are especially prone to pulmonary infections with coccidiomycosis, involvement of the skin and disseminated, or widely spread, disease. ...
The onset of chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis is variable. It can develop 20 or more years after initial infection which may not have been recognized, diagnosed, or treated at the time.
Lung abscesses can form and rupture. Pus can collect between the lungs and the chest wall, forming an empyema.
In the disseminated form of the disease, the infection may spread to the bones, lungs, liver, meninges, brain, skin, heart, and pericardium. Meningitis occurs in about half of the disseminated cases.
Public health officials are recommending that California hold off on new prison construction in the southern San Joaquin Valley because it will expose an untold number of inmates to potentially fatal valley fever. ...
Valley fever is a disease that results from molds that grow in the region's soil. When stirred up by construction or other means, such as wind or earthquakes, its airborne spores can lodge in the lungs and create symptoms ranging from a mild viral illness to respiratory failure. It can also cause skin lesions and bone problems.
Last year, more than 500 valley fever cases were reported at the 5,000-inmate Pleasant Valley State Prison in Fresno County. Four inmates at the prison died of valley fever in 2005.
As a result, health professionals and researchers submitted a report urging the state not to add prison beds "in the hyperendemic area," where valley fever spores are prevalent. They also suggested that the state evaluate exposure to the disease and "consider relocating all inmates" from Pleasant Valley if it can't fix the problem. ...
Inmates last year made up two-thirds of all the valley fever cases in Fresno and Kings counties, according to the report to the receiver. MacLean, the Kings County health official, said a key factor is that "prisoners are put in that risk by state policy." [Emphasis added]
What kind of bonehead made the decision to locate the prison in such an area, not once, but twice? Yes, our prisons are overcrowded, but come on, folks. Putting a prison up in such a place only complicates the other major problem our penal system faces, inadequate health care for inmates. I'm sure the feds who have already looked into the California prisons will be delighted with this latest news.
Note: For more information on just how tricky coccidiomycosis can be to treat and to live with, go here. The disease can be devastating:
More serious infections tend to develop in those whose immune system is compromised from AIDS or cancer. Those with AIDS are especially prone to pulmonary infections with coccidiomycosis, involvement of the skin and disseminated, or widely spread, disease. ...
The onset of chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis is variable. It can develop 20 or more years after initial infection which may not have been recognized, diagnosed, or treated at the time.
Lung abscesses can form and rupture. Pus can collect between the lungs and the chest wall, forming an empyema.
In the disseminated form of the disease, the infection may spread to the bones, lungs, liver, meninges, brain, skin, heart, and pericardium. Meningitis occurs in about half of the disseminated cases.
Labels: California
posted by Diane at 3:25 AM
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