TB case points to prison negligence

By Ben Alterman CASTLEMAINE — Inmates and staff at Victoria's Loddon and Pentridge prisons were informed on October 6, by the head of the Department of Health and Community Services Dr Graham-Rouch, that a recently released inmate had been diagnosed as suffering from tuberculosis (TB) at a Canberra hospital. Shortly after, inmates and staff at Loddon prison, where the infected man spent most of his sentence, were addressed by Anne Marie Baker of the Fairfield Infections Diseases Centre who said that there was little chance of infection and that the optional skin testing which was to be made available on October 9 was just a "precaution". This contradicted Graham-Rouch's earlier statement that: "It is likely that during his imprisonment in Victoria — he was likely to be infectious to others". Graham-Rouch said that TB is spread by droplets of sputum generated by coughing and sneezing. There would be a fair risk of infection for 60 people in a confined unit over a three-month period. The man in question also spent two and a half weeks in Pentridge's "D" division where all inmates initially go after their arrest. This division has a policy of placing two inmates in a cell, which has little or no air circulation, for 16 hours a day. Cell mates change on a daily basis which would put even more people at risk of being infected. This could lead to an epidemic such as those that have occurred in US prisons. Talk of "low risk of infection" and "precautionary" testing has meant that a lot of inmates have not bothered to get tested. This is negligent, to say the least, especially considering the inherently high risk of any infection in a typical prison environment. However this pales into insignificance when compared to the negligence of the doctor in Loddon prison who told a man complaining of prolonged coughing, weight loss and night sweats — all symptoms of pulmonary TB — to take a couple of panadol and rest! The poor man had to wait three months until his release to see a competent physician. It also meant that an untreated case of pulmonary TB went into the community thereby creating further risk. If this can happen in a state-run prison system, one can only wonder what it will be like when a largely unsupervised private prison management takes over.