Indiana prison flu outbreak has killed 1, sickened dozens

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. She said the prison was taking the correct steps, including sanitizing the building's interior and urging hand-washing, to reduce the chances that it will infect more inmates.

"It's a virus that's circulated for a while and now that we know what the cause of this illness is very specific measures can be taken to prevent any further spread," she said at a news conference near the medium-security prison.

Prison Superintendent Brian Smith said 35 inmates, including the one who died, and at least five staff members at the prison about 35 miles west of Indianapolis have been treated for flu-like symptoms.

Ten inmates were at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, spokeswoman Jennifer Stanley said. Nine are in good condition. The other man is in critical condition, on a respirator and is "very, very ill," Mitcheff said.

Another 15 inmates remained under observation at the prison's infirmary.

Mitcheff said the DOC prepares each year for a possible flu outbreak in the close quarters of the state's prisons and this is the worst such outbreak in his 18 years with the state agency.