SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Officials say Legionnaires’ disease bacteria that killed one inmate and sickened another is more widespread than expected in a California prison.
Corrections spokeswoman Vicky Waters said Wednesday that preliminary test results found the bacteria in the water supply at a prison medical facility in Stockton and at two neighbouring youth correctional facilities. Officials had thought it was isolated to one housing unit.
They’re now adding shower filters in other areas and warning against using unfiltered water.
The bacteria weren’t detected in the Stockton city water supply, though the city supplies water to the state facilities.
An inmate who died last month had Legionnaires’ disease, which is considered a severe form of pneumonia. A second inmate tested positive for the bacteria but is in good condition.
Don Thompson, The Associated Press
