Virus puts pox on fed lockup
Visitation halted for some inmates as officials try to corral chickenpox
Federal authorities are accustomed to riding herd over gang members and other threats to society, but Wednesday they aimed to keep the highly contagious chickenpox virus caged inside the walls of their downtown lockup.
Notices that some visits with inmates had been canceled were taped to the front doors of the Federal Detention Center, which holds about 900 inmates and is located a few blocks from Minute Maid Park.
“Visitation for Unit 5 East and east side of Special Housing are temporarily closed until further notice,” the notices state.
A more detailed posting on a wall inside the lobby advised visitors that the chickenpox, formally known as varicella zoster virus., posed a “slight risk” of exposure to them. Prison
officials confirmed that one inmate has been diagnosed with chickenpox and 14 others have also been banned from having visitors or making court appearances until June 23.
“The Bureau of Prisons takes communicable diseases seriously, especially as they relate to the safety of our staff, inmate population and the public,” a spokeswoman for the detention center said.
“The Bureau will manage infectious diseases in the confined environment of a correctional setting through a comprehensive approach, which includes testing, appropriate treatment, prevention, education and infection control measures,” she continued.
The disease, known for a blister-like rash, itching and fever, is considered a childhood rite of passage and can be especially serious for babies, adults and people with weakened immune systems.
Dr. Shital M. Patel, of the Baylor College of Medicine, said whether the virus, which she described as highly contagious, spreads could depend on who had it as a child as well as who has been immunized — a practice that began in the mid-1990s.
“The virus is an airborne disease ,which means it can spread through coughing and sneezing of an infected person,” she said, “and can spread rapidly among people in close contact who have not had chickenpox before.”
Houston’s health department had no reports of an outbreak among the city’s general population.
The prison facility is not designed for long-term stays, although some inmates stay more than a year.
It holds men and women as they await trial or are to be transferred to a penitentiary or other facility after they’ve been convicted. It also has inmate visiting hours seven days a week. Authorities declined to say how many inmates lived on the floor directly impacted by the virus.
The concern at the detention center comes as the overall number of chickenpox cases has dropped dramatically due to the widespread use of vaccine.
There were 167 reported cases of chickenpox in Harris County in 2014, compared with 1,568 in 2006.
It remains to be seen how chickenpox at the detention center could impact proceedings at the federal courthouse.
A Thursday hearing for Aryan Brotherhood of Texas captain Rusty Duke, who is fighting to withdraw his guilty plea in a racketeering case, was initially jeopardized over concerns about the virus.
After tests showed Duke previously had the virus — and therefore could not be re-infected or spread it — a federal judge ruled that the hearing should stay in place.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Alfredo Perez said he expected operations to continue as normal, as no one with hearings scheduled for Thursday had chickenpox or was considered at risk to get it.