PENDLETON, Ind. (AP) _ Dozens of inmates at Pendleton Correctional Facility in central Indiana are suing the state after cases of tuberculosis at the prison.
An inmate at the facility was moved into isolation at another prison in June 2014 after testing positive for active tuberculosis. State Department of Health spokesman Ken Severson says an outbreak believed to have started with the inmate resulted in three active tuberculosis cases and 75 latent infections among Pendleton inmates.
The (Anderson) Herald Bulletin (http://bit.ly/1W0ju3p ) reports the prisoners' class-action lawsuit was filed in May against the Indiana Department of Correction and seeks unspecific damages. The lawsuit accuses prison officials of failing to properly screen, diagnosis and treat the initial patient, and claims about 400 inmates were exposed to bacteria causing tuberculosis.
The legal response filed on the Department of Correction's behalf denies prisoners' allegations.
