Immigrations and Customs Enforcement says a detainee in the Chase County detention facility has mumps and at least 22 other inmates may have been exposed.
ICE has confirmed one detainee in the Chase County Detention Center in Cottonwood Falls was reported as a possible mumps case as of June 18. Confirmation of mumps came between that date and July 1. ICE has also “cohorted,” or separated, 22 other detainees in the Chase County Jail because they either had contact with the infected detainee or may have had contact. None of them are officially quarantined or sick, but ICE says they are “prohibited from mingling with the rest of the population” until July 16.
Jail Administrator Larry Sigler says no staffers were affected because the disease is transmitted by saliva.
Mumps is a contagious viral disease that is preventable with vaccinations. Symptoms include puffy cheeks, a swollen jaw, fever, headache and muscle aches. Symptoms can last nearly a month after infection.
Mumps in prisons or detention facilities is becoming a more widely known issue. ICE has had to quarantine some 5,200 migrants at nearly 40 detention centers, according to the Washington Post. ICE says the developments in Chase County are an isolated case and not related to the nationwide situation.
The Chase County Jail has been an ICE detention center since 2008. Its current jail roster has around 135 inmates, of which around 100 are ICE detainees.
Chase County Commission board chair Tony Hazelton says the situation was handled properly and Sigler kept commissioners informed as the investigation continued. Sheriff Richard Dorneker, however, says he was not informed initially after asking for information on the case.
