Article published May 18, 2006
Apparent flu epidemic spreads through Deuel

TRACY - An apparent epidemic of stomach flu has
knocked 273 inmates off
their feet and put Deuel Vocational Institution
on lockdown, a California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Four inmates became so ill from dehydration
caused by vomiting and diarrhea
they were sent to hospitals, said corrections
spokeswoman Terry Thornton.
The illness appeared to be viral gastroenteritis,
but prison officials have
not ruled out food poisoning, because inmates are
served from the same
prison kitchen. Inmates housed in all parts of
the prison are falling ill,
she said.

No significant number of prison staffers have
called in sick complaining of
flulike symptoms, Deuel spokesman Capt. Ron
Rackley said.

Except for Deuel, none of the state's other
prisons are experiencing the
same epidemic, Thornton said.

Rackley said that until the epidemic subsides,
all of the prison's 3,800
inmates are locked in their cells. No inmates are
allowed to attend
scheduled court appearances in Stockton or
elsewhere, he said.

New inmates who would come to Deuel are being
sent to other prisons, Rackley
said.

The first inmate became ill Friday, and the
number of ill inmates continued
to climb Wednesday. Prison officials asked San
Joaquin County Public Health
Services to help manage the epidemic.

Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or
ssmith@recordnet.com
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060518&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=605180343&Template=printart