My husband was sent to San Quentin on December 1st, 2003 from Sonoma
County Jail, in Santa Rosa, he hadn't been there more than a month when
he contracted what the prison was saying was a "spider bite". Since his
release on March 24th, 2004, he came home with a grapping hole in his leg
caused by staph infection, and according to my husband there are hundreds
of inmates that have this infection. For those of you that have been told
by your loved ones at this insitution, that they have a "spider bite" it is
total untruth. Eric was treated with serveral bouts of antibiotics to clear
it up. If you have any loved one at this prison that has contracted this
infection please let me know as I will be filing a complaint with the Director
of Health and Welfare, that I am hoping in return will turn into a class action
suit against CDC and the State of California for allowing this type of infection
to run rampant in our prisons. Not only San Quentin, but all of the prisons
here in California. Thanks for your concern and any info from this site will
be held in strict confidentality with me. Suzi :pissed:

I have heard this before, make sure you take pictures of it right away. Love Barb

Thanks Barb~ I will get right on that. I wonder if the prisons know how dangerous
staph infection really is. If it kills people in hospital settings, I wonder if they realize
that this can kill inmates as well. Even staff at the prisons can contract it as well.
It is a horrible looking infection. I couldn't believe what I was seeing one time when
I went to visit him. And the Department of Corruptions just covers it up and says "oh,
it's just a spider bite" it will go away. Bull hockey.

Once you get the pictures taken maybe you could post them here on PTO so that we will all know what to look for. Love Barb

Guy told me this past Friday that he had gotten bitten by a spider. It's the second time this has happened, and he was really sick with it the first go round. When he calls this Friday I will tell him what's going on. Thanks, Suzi, for the info and I hope Eric is feeling better. Let me know what happens.

The Difference Between A Spider Bite And Staph Infection Is: Staph Infection Produces Green And Yellow Pus With Blood From The Site Of Infection, Causing The Skin To Erupt With A Tunnel Type Effect. A Spider Bite Produces Some Green Pus, But Mostly White And Or Clear Liquid. Spider
Bites React Very Well To Antiboictic Treatments, Where As Staph Infection
Does Not, And May Have To Recieve Several Weeks Of Antibioctics To Clear
Up The Infection Itself, Along With Dressings And Medications Placed Directly On The Infected Area. Eric Is Seeing A Private Doctor Out Here, To
Treat The Infection As The Medications That He Did Recieve At San Quentin
Were Helpful However Did Not Resolve The Problem. It Is Well Known That
Staph Infection Is Common After Surgery In Hospitals Around The Country
But To Get Staph Infection In A Prison Setting Is More Uncommon. Staph
Infection If Not Treated Correctly, Can Cause Death.

Ohhhh wow that's scary I hope my Fiance dont get any bites if he hasn't already....... I will be just as mad....

you go girl!!!!
If I see Murphy again, he dropped by yest. unexpected., Ill ask him, etc. etc. etc.
But high five girl!!!

the "spider bites" even from real spiders can infect badly and go into
a staph or strep infection. Some spider bites don't have a "pus", they
can be a "dry" bite also with a reddened area.
But anytime there is a red area around what appears to be a "bite" or
swelling, a cellular infection of some nature is occuring.
I would definately say take pictures and because this seems SO large
of an issue across the United States, I think we need to start doing
some reports to the Center for Disease Control.......if the prison docs
aren't treating these for people. You can lose limbs from a bite or
infection that goes unchecked.
kate

the "spider bites" even from real spiders can infect badly and go into
a staph or strep infection. Some spider bites don't have a "pus", they
can be a "dry" bite also with a reddened area.
But anytime there is a red area around what appears to be a "bite" or
swelling, a cellular infection of some nature is occuring.
I would definately say take pictures and because this seems SO large
of an issue across the United States, I think we need to start doing
some reports to the Center for Disease Control.......if the prison docs
aren't treating these for people. You can lose limbs from a bite or
infection that goes unchecked.
kate
I called Washington D.C. to report the outbreak at San Quentin a long time
ago when I heard of this first happening with my husband,and they told me
to contact the local chapter in Northern Ca where we live, they in turn told me to contact San Quentin, whom I did, and spoke with a lady named Beverely in the Medical Records Department, who acted totally dumbfounded
by this, and said that this was the first time she had heard of anyone (inmates) having Staph Infection... Of course, she didn't want to say anything
that would look bad at the prison.. Why would she?

Alabama has had bad cases of staph infection. My son has had several bad sores. The same spider rumors were going around also. It is not spider bites. It is staph and they are horrible. My son has scars all over his body from them. He said some of the men got them on their faces. My son hasn't gotten one on his face but almost every where else. The problem has been that the prisons are slow to start the treatment putting the inmate in not only danger for their lives, but unnecessary pain for days before they are even seen by the physicians in these clinics. They are very painful. Something has got to be done.

Staph takes advantage of a host, your loved one, through any break in the skin (shaving nicks, pimples, bites, scratches, etc.). It is spread by touching a person, or a surface that has the bacteria on it.

The best prevention for infection is to wash your hands with soap and water, at every opportunity. Your loved one must become compulsive about this. They need to wash their hands for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday To Me", three times in a row. This is not a joke, and is their best defense.

Since nobody lives alone, they must share this information with their cellies, other inmates, and staff as well. It is better to not touch any surfaces that are shared by others. Tough to do, but wise.

Every time they return to their cell, they need to wash their hands. They need to keep their bare hands off of skin lesions on their bodies unless they have washed. Buy them some extra soap, and if possible, buy disinfectant wipes for them to use on the surfaces of their cell and phones. (Are such things allowed to be purchased?) Phones are the worst breeding grounds for spreading staph. Don't touch your own skin after using a phone, until you have washed your hands.

Write letters to the CDC and insist that sanitary precautions are enforced to prevent this epidemic to continue. Disinfectant wipes should be made available for every single phone call made by an inmate. The cost of these items would more than cover the cost of treating an inmate for a serious staph infection.

Spider bites are uncommon, and there are no Brown Recluse spiders in California. Those are the only biting spiders that can cause necrosis and the wasting of skin. Unusual swelling and pus at any site should send up red flags, and needs immediate attention.

Include this information in your next letter to your loved one.

As to qoute GrammyC, washing your hands constantly is the best way to prevent the
spread of this infection. CDC buying antibacterial hand wipes? We wish. They " cover
up" things of this nature to protect only themselves. But how soon CDC forgets that
this type of serious life threatening infection can also spread to the Guards and staff.
I wonder what the CCPOA would have to say about this one..

I just wanted to add that this is happening in all the prisons in California. All the staff received training on Staph Infections a couple of months ago when this hit big. It has been spreading because inmates use the same sinks/toilets/buckets to wash their personal clothing and they use hand soap to do it. That is not adequate to kill the germs.

CDC allows the inmates to have personal clothing but does not give them a way to wash them. The last thing I heard about it they were talking about banning all personal clothing. State issue only.

Staph is a very big deal and was being misdiagnosed as spider bites but after the training we had, we have got a grip on it. At least at my prison. I haven't heard of any new cases of it in a long time.

The state is gonna take away personal clothing now from the inmates to
curb the outbreak of Staph Infection? What makes the State think that this
is gonna do any good? I know of lot's of inmates that wash their own State
Issued Blues in sinks and buckets because the way the laundry is done is
not enough to actually get anything clean...And there are alot of inmates that don't like to have their clothing washed with other's. This isn't going to
do the trick I am afraid to say. I suggest a throughall cleaning of all the
johns and showers and maybe even the cells and flyers to the inmates about
the outbreak of this infection that is hitting all of California State Prisons,
and the County Jails. Why not? CDC is already known for wasting money
on stupid things to begin with. Take some of that waste and put it to good
use. And educating all inmates about the dangers and risks of staph infection.
This is nothing to play around with. Not now, not ever. suzi :angry: