Parklea Jail: Whooping cough confirmed in five inmates

One of the state’s notorious prisons is sending inmates into isolation after confirming five of them have this morning tested positive for the highly contagious whooping cough.

Health and prison authorities are scrambling to contain the whooping cough outbreak which has seen five inmates needing to isolate.

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Prison authorities have confirmed five cases of Whooping Cough have been diagnosed at the Parklea Correctional Centre overnight, sending the facility into lockdown.

The five inmates are currently isolating in a stable condition and are showing no symptoms, according to MTC Broadspectrum, the private company which operates the jail.

It is understood prisoners at the facility in Sydney’s north-west are being waved of their obligations to appear in court from the jail’s video-link rooms in a bid to get a handle on the outbreak.

The outbreak at the facility near Blacktown has lead to a series of delays in court cases on Tuesday.

Health authorities are currently undertaking contact tracing to find the source of the infection and to ensure no other inmates or staff have been potentially exposed.

Whooping Cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection which can be deadly for young children if they have not been vaccinated.

It is generally treated with antibiotics in adults but symptoms can last for weeks if left untreated.

Jail officials have spent the last three months on high alert as the state battles the coronavirus pandemic.

Visitors had been banned to the state’s jails because of the coronavirus pandemic and staff had already been on high alert for any symptoms.

Prisoners have been denied visitors, which has caused frustration among inmates who rely on outsiders for drugs, in a bid to lower the risk of transmission.

To date no NSW prison inmate or worker has tested positive to coronavirus.

“MTC-Broadspectrum can confirm that five inmates at Parklea Correctional Centre have tested positive for whooping cough,” a spokesman said.

“MTC-Broadspectrum and our health care provider at the centre, St Vincent’s Correctional Health, are collaborating closely with Corrective Services NSW, Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network and NSW Health as appropriate to protect the health and safety of staff and inmates at the centre.”

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