CASTAIC : More Meningitis Cases Expected

A county medical official said Tuesday that he expects to see more cases of meningitis at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho, despite the mass preventive treatment of more than 2,000 inmates and jail workers over the weekend.

But Dr. John H. Clark, chief medical officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said any future cases might not be connected to the six diagnosed so far this year, one of which resulted in death.

“This is just the time of year when the contagion rate is high,” he said.

Clark said the sprawling jail facility near Castaic has averaged seven cases a year for the past seven years, which other county health officials said is not out of the ordinary for large custodial facilities. Of the 48 cases, two others have been fatal.

Officials have said that the extreme measures taken over the weekend were not related to the death of Alexander Betancourt, 45, last Thursday, but resulted from the discovery Saturday that the second of two inmate trusties had been infected. Trusties, as inmates considered trustworthy enough to have some freedom of movement are called, have contact with scores of inmates and staff members as they perform chores in various parts of the jail.