Deadly Staph Infection 'Superbug' Has a Dangerous Foothold in U.S. Jails

Dr. Jeff Duchin, the communicable diseases chief for Seattle/King County Department of Public Health holds his soap-lathered hands in an attention-grabbing newspaper cover photo. Above his dignified image is a highly magnified picture of fuzzy bacterium. The bacterium doesn't appear to be particularly frightening, but it is. This "superbug," known as methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has the power to disable, disfigure and kill the people who come into contact with it.

Like so many other regional and national newspaper and magazine stories about MRSA's creeping presence in the nation, this feature in the Nov. 26, 2007, issue of the Seattle Times was chock-full of useful, preventative information. Among the key, common sense suggestions were for readers to remember that MRSA isn't limited to the transfer of blood or bodily fluids. While not airborne in the way that tuberculosis is (although MRSA has been known to be transmitted by sneezing), the bacterium spreads with tremendous ease by way of skin-to-germ contact. The article advised people to remember to wash their hands regularly; to avoid unbleached public washing facilities; not to share towels, razors, or any kind of shared drug paraphernalia; and to have the "courage" to be willing to ask medical personnel if they've washed their hands before touching you.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC has rightfully called MRSA (pronounced mer-sa) the "cockroach of bacteria." It spreads silently and stealthily, and moves quickly from one location to the next. Once it's around, it's also incredibly difficult to get rid of because this virulent mutation of staph is resistant to all but the most rare and expensive antibiotics. Sometimes, even the super drugs don't work against this superbug, resulting in some 19,000 deaths in 2005, amounting to more than one in five of the estimated 94,000 Americans walking around MRSA lurking on skin surfaces and in nasal cavities.

Media headlines have emphasized the existing or potential presence of MRSA in hospitals and schools: at least three students are known to have died from the bacteria. "[D]rug-resistant strains of the bacteria are finding new homes in the community -- particularly among kids," as a recent Time article, "Staph on the March," warned readers.

Given this level of justifiable media and public attention to the dangers of MRSA, it's remarkable to note how little attention is being paid to the kinds of facilities where the superbug thrives and spreads the fastest: poorly ventilated living and sleeping quarters; overcrowded rooms; shared mattresses, toilets and showers; and a preponderance of people who arrive with poor health, drug problems and severely compromised immune systems. Homeless shelters and emergency rooms serving indigent populations are among them, but there is no question that the biggest incubators of all are the nation's 5,000-plus prisons and jails.

"MRSA is running rampant through prisons and jails in the country," says Paul Wright, editor of Prison Legal News and co-editor of the newly published book Prison Profiteers: Who Makes Money from Mass Incarceration. "Prisons and jails have historically been the incubators of disease, and that trend continues today. A disproportionate number of people with infectious diseases, including MRSA, will cycle through jails and prisons each year."

The exact number of people entering the criminal justice system with either the regular or superbug version of staph is unknown, owing to a combination of factors. For one, not all people who harbor the bacterium present symptoms. For another, most jails and prisons do not regularly test for or report it.

It would be easy to dismiss the prevalence of MRSA in jails and prisons as something that happens to people who are so irresponsible that they don't take the time to clean themselves or their cells. But stereotypes like these don't hold true once prisoners are actually given the opportunity to explain or demonstrate what their living conditions are like. Yes, many men and women enter the criminal justice system out of unstable, impoverished environments that have already put them at risk because of behaviors attendant to high-risk lifestyles. Like most Americans, people who end up behind bars don't actually know much of anything about how MRSA is spread, what signs of infection to look for -- or even, for that matter, that the bacterium exists.