Lucio Vasquez/Houston Public Media
A 53-year-old Harris County Jail inmate died Thursday after being diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
A news release from the sheriff’s office, which operates the downtown Houston jail, said local public health departments identified several inmates and employees who have come into contact with the man in recent weeks. The sheriff’s office did not respond to a question about how many were potentially exposed.
Bacterial meningitis is spread through respiratory and throat secretions, according to the sheriff’s office, which said symptoms include fever, altered mental status and light sensitivity. In later stages of the illness, people may develop dark colored rashes.
“Medical professionals are now following treatment and observation protocols for those who may be at risk,” the sheriff’s office wrote in its news release. “At this time, there are no other confirmed cases of the disease among those who live and work in jail.”
The man who died was identified as Gregory Bennett by the Harris County medical examiner’s office. He had been in the jail since Sept. 23, when he was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, harassment of a public servant and unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show. Bennett was transferred from the jail to a hospital on Tuesday, because he was experiencing nausea and stomach pain, and was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis on Wednesday before dying the following day, according to a death report submitted by the sheriff’s office to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
The death marks the 16th in-custody jail death reported by the county sheriff’s office just this year. Several inmates who died inside the jail since January suffered from pre-existing medical conditions, or contracted viral infections, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
RELATED: Two more deaths inside Harris County Jail mark 15 in-custody deaths this year
The most recent deaths inside the jail included 34-year-old Pebbles Girardi, who died on Oct. 3 after suffering a medical emergency inside her cell, and 58-year-old Billy Ray Turner, who also suffered an apparent medical emergency that same day while he was being booked into the jail, according to the sheriff’s office.
The most recent death is being investigated by the Texas Rangers, who are leading six other investigations into Harris County Jail deaths this year.
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