Staff Encourages Spread of Staph

Here at OSCI[Oregon State Correctional Institution], I have seen the most messed up conditions of all the prisons I've been to in Oregon. They make you work 2 jobs and only pay you for 1 of those jobs. We get yard 1 time a day if it's not raining and they decide to let us out. Some days it's sunny out and we still don't get yard.

We have a highly contagious skin infection running rampant in here. It's called staph infection. I've caught it twice now. One job in the kitchen I do is clean trays, pots and pans. Another job I do is serve food to the inmates. I had a certified nurse tell me that I had staph. I asked the food coordinators if they wanted me to serve food at lunch They asked me if I had seen a doctor. I said, "No, the nurse told me I had staph and to put in for sick call right away." They acted as if the nurse wasn't qualified and told me I had to serve food. Food coordinator Clay seemed to be the one who made the decision.

Another day I told Clay I was sick and was going back to my cell. He said, "You don't have that option." Then he tried some power trip games in order to have me put into the hole (Disciplinary Segregation Unit). I had a cool head and didn't play how he was trying to get me to play, so I was able to not go to the hole even though he tried his best. By law we are allowed 1 sick day a week without any consequences at all. He tries to lie to you and have you put into the hole. I've seen him try this with others and he needs to stop.

- an Oregon Prisoner, March 2006

MIM adds: The spread of Staphylococcus is common in prisons where people live in close quarters and health care is lacking. It is a bacteria that commonly grows on the skin, sometimes causing lesions or boils if it infects an open cut or wound. In rare circumstances it can cause severe internal infections. This is particularly dangerous for people who have HIV or other conditions that are also more rampant in prisons where health care is inadequate.

In 2000, the Bureau of Justice reported HIV rates in prisons 4 times those of the general population. This is a symptom of a variety of easily preventable problems with life in u$ prisons. These are the same causes of the spread of Staph, TB and other communicable diseases.

Staph is spread by skin-to-skin contact, or contact with items such as clothes or razors that have been in contact with the bacteria. Clearly people with Staph infections should not be serving food. People with Staph should take the precautions of washing their hands with soap and water regularly and not sharing persynal items. In some cases it can be treated with antibiotics.