SACRAMENTO (Dec. 3, 2009) — H1N1 has been confirmed as the cause of a third inmate death. The inmate from a central California prison facility died Friday, November 27th. The inmate’s identity is being withheld due to privacy laws.
Previously, two other California inmates died as a result of what are now confirmed H1N1-rrelatred complications. One death was reported in central California on Tuesday, November 17, 2009. The other H1N1-related inmate death was reported in southern California on Friday November 13, 2009.
Overall, outbreaks of H1N1 flu in California prisons have been small so far this summer and fall, with fewer than 30 patients per outbreak in most cases; the median size of confirmed H1N1 influenza outbreaks in California prisons is 9 cases. Of California’s approx. 170,000 inmates, there have been 65 hospitalizations for H1N1 influenza complications. Statewide, 11% of persons in the general population who are hospitalized for H1N1 influenza infections have died. In contrast, the death rate has been fewer than 5% among patients hospitalized due to H1N1 influenza complications identified in CDCR adult institutions.