Post by Susan on May 27, 2005 9:29:41 GMT -5
Thanks to Patricia Doyle at
www.clickitnews.com//ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases&Number=3144&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/11727694.htm
Posted on Tue, May. 24, 2005
New Jersey prison inmate tested for leprosy
REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey state prison officials said Tuesday they have isolated an inmate they suspect may have leprosy and expect to have definite test results by the middle of next week.
"We do have an inmate who has shown symptoms that could very well be related to that," said Deirdre Fedkenheuer, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.
Fedkenheuer said the prison first tested the inmate for Hansen's Disease, the formal name for leprosy, on Friday after noticing a rash on his body. The tests were sent to the National Hansen's Disease Program in Louisiana, and results are expected next week.
Fedkenheuer said prison medical personnel began administering antibiotics to the inmate immediately. Until the test results are known, prison officials are keeping him isolated as a precaution.
According to Fedkenheuer, patients with leprosy are no longer infectious shortly after they begin antibiotic treatment.
Staff at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, where the inmate was being held, were alerted on Saturday about the possible leprosy case, said Fedkenheuer.
The inmate was sent to a hospital for testing, then transferred to New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, where he is quarantined.
Leprosy, an infectious disease that affects the skin, peripheral nerves and mucous membranes, is most common in tropical climates, but it is not completely unheard of in the United States. In 2002, 96 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It can be debilitating, with sensory loss resulting from nerve damage.
According to Gretchen Michael, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, three leprosy cases were reported in New Jersey in 2003 and four cases in 2002. Michael said statistics are still being compiled for 2004.
Leprosy is treatable, said Michael, and usually takes two to three years to complete treatment.
www.clickitnews.com//ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases&Number=3144&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/11727694.htm
Posted on Tue, May. 24, 2005
New Jersey prison inmate tested for leprosy
REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey state prison officials said Tuesday they have isolated an inmate they suspect may have leprosy and expect to have definite test results by the middle of next week.
"We do have an inmate who has shown symptoms that could very well be related to that," said Deirdre Fedkenheuer, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.
Fedkenheuer said the prison first tested the inmate for Hansen's Disease, the formal name for leprosy, on Friday after noticing a rash on his body. The tests were sent to the National Hansen's Disease Program in Louisiana, and results are expected next week.
Fedkenheuer said prison medical personnel began administering antibiotics to the inmate immediately. Until the test results are known, prison officials are keeping him isolated as a precaution.
According to Fedkenheuer, patients with leprosy are no longer infectious shortly after they begin antibiotic treatment.
Staff at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, where the inmate was being held, were alerted on Saturday about the possible leprosy case, said Fedkenheuer.
The inmate was sent to a hospital for testing, then transferred to New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, where he is quarantined.
Leprosy, an infectious disease that affects the skin, peripheral nerves and mucous membranes, is most common in tropical climates, but it is not completely unheard of in the United States. In 2002, 96 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It can be debilitating, with sensory loss resulting from nerve damage.
According to Gretchen Michael, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, three leprosy cases were reported in New Jersey in 2003 and four cases in 2002. Michael said statistics are still being compiled for 2004.
Leprosy is treatable, said Michael, and usually takes two to three years to complete treatment.