Great Plains Correctional Facility Closes to Visitors After Bacterial Meningitis Death

An inmate at the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton died of bacterial meningitis over the weekend, and part of the prison is still quarantined to prevent an outbreak.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed the 59-year-old inmate who contracted meningitis died Saturday.

There was another suspected case, but that inmate has now tested negative several times.

News 9 spoke with the ODOC's Chief Medical Officer about the steps the prison is taking to slow any potential spread.

"This particular type of meningitis is carried by 10% of the population," Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Meyer said. "10% of our normal population can carry that in their nose and throat."

A case of bacterial meningitis claimed the life of a 59-year-old inmate at Great Plains Correctional Facility over the weekend.

Meningitis spreads through water droplets and saliva, so Dr. Meyer said protecting the rest of the inmates is a top priority.

"He was on E unit, so that whole unit was isolated. No one was walking in or out of there. We tried to keep them separate," he said.

Anyone who was in close contact with the inmate was immediately checked out.

"We gave them all the prophylactic antibiotics they needed to help protect them from this," Dr. Meyer said.

No other cases have been confirmed at this time.

"Typically, with meningitis, someone's going to start running a fever, have a headache, a stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, so certainly anyone showing any of those symptoms will be looked at right away," he said, adding they’re paying the closest attention to the unit that housed the inmate who died.

"That particular unit we're obviously doing daily checks on everyone, taking everyone's temperatures making sure everyone's feeling fine and if anyone is sick, we're taking a closer eye on them."

ODOC assures it's taking every precaution necessary to protect the inmates, including sanitizing twice a day, encouraging hand washing, and providing masks for each inmate.

Visitation has been canceled at the prison through this weekend, and ODOC says it will reevaluate the situation next week.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has not identified the inmate who died.