The federal government is denying claims by a female prisoner at Federal Correctional Complex-Coleman that hazardous conditions at the women’s camp led to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease.
Kara Adams filed a complaint last week in the U.S. District Court in Ocala on behalf of herself and the “women of the Coleman camp,” alleging that the federal Bureau of Prisons failed to keep water and air sources clean at the low-security camp in Sumter County.
Two cases of the disease were diagnosed within the camp, prison officials said, but none at the other complexes of the largest federal prison in the U.S.
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by breathing in Legionella bacteria, which can grow in water pipes of large buildings and transform into a mist when devices such as showers and spas are used. It can be treated with antibiotics and isn’t contagious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Adams asked a district court judge for continued medical care and a compassionate release from Coleman.
But Jeffrey Middendorf, special assistant U.S. attorney, wrote in a response filed Tuesday that Adams’ claims are without merit.
“The Legionella bacteria exists naturally in the environment and the two confirmed cases and suspect cases have been treated effectively by FCC Coleman in conjunction with the [state Health Department],” Middendorf wrote.
There are 409 women incarcerated at the camp, including former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, a Jacksonville Democrat who represented a portion of Central Florida and was convicted in 2017 on fraud charges.
Officials previously reported that 23 cases of Legionnaires’ disease were diagnosed, a number that a prison spokesman later said “was based on an incorrect interpretation of test results.”
Twenty-three inmates were tested for the disease through blood and urine samples, according to court documents. Two inmates tested positive for Legionella in urine samples. Twenty-one tested negative in the urine samples but positive for antibodies.
Records show Adams is classified as one of the “suspect cases” for the disease. She and the other 20 prisoners are scheduled for further testing to determine a diagnosis.
Prison officials said the contaminated source hasn’t been discovered and that the state Department of Health reported all water samples came back negative for the Legionella bacteria.
Adams, who was placed at the Coleman camp in November 2018, described in the complaint that bathroom ceilings in the camp are leaking and shower drains often back up with sewer waste.
A prison spokesman, citing the pending litigation, declined to answer questions last week about the number of women affected, the conditions of the camp and if prison staff is also being tested for the disease.
It is unknown when the district judge will make a ruling on Adams’ complaint.
This story originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com.
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