Several CMC inmates found to have syphilis

Officials are restricting movement and conjugal visits to limit infection

By Leslie Parrilla

California Men’s Colony is halting inmate transfers and barring conjugal visits after several cases of syphilis were reported this week.

Prison officials were notified Monday by medical staff that several inmates had been diagnosed with the sexually transmitted disease, according to acting prison spokesman Andrew Pitoniak.

The exact number of cases was unknown Thursday.

Prison officials have inmates on restricted movement — not allowing them to transfer to other prisons — until they are determined not to be infected with the sexually transmitted disease.

Inmates are also prohibited from conjugal visits until prison officials are certain they are not infected.

“The administration is working toward a plan to test who they can and to stop it so it doesn’t turn into an epidemic or an outbreak,” Pitoniak said Thursday.

All of the infected inmates are in one housing unit at the facility.

The disease is spread through direct contact with syphilis sores that develop mainly on the genitals. Sores can also develop on the mouth and lips, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bacterium is easily treated in the early stages with an injection of penicillin, according to the CDC.

If left untreated, the disease may damage internal organs and can cause death. Symptoms of the late stages of syphilis include difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness and dementia.

Sexual activity between inmates at the prison is strictly prohibited, Pitoniak said.

Inmates can ask to be tested and treated for the disease. Prison medical staff may test all the inmates in the housing facility where the infections were reported.

And staff is educating inmates about the disease.

Clinical staff members at the health care division of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Thursday they were notified of the diagnoses and are monitoring the situation, working to identify the source and to limit the spread.

More than 36,000 cases of syphilis were reported in the United States in 2006, according to the CDC.

Leslie Parrilla can be reached at 783-7645.