Bad Brew Leads To Prison Botulism Outbreak

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Fifteen federal prisoners remain hospitalized Monday following a botulism outbreak traced to inmate-brewed alcohol.

Liz Sharlott, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi State Department of Health, said Monday that inmates in the medium-security section of Federal Correctional Institution Yazoo City began getting sick last week after sharing homebrew typically made from fruit and vegetable scraps, sugar and water.

One inmate who drank the homebrew became sick after arriving at a prison transfer facility in Oklahoma City.

Two additional prisoners have been released from hospitals and returned to the prison. Associate Warden E.K. Carlton writes in a news release that the prison is monitoring other inmates to see if botulism develops, because it can take up to 10 days to develop.

The potentially deadly bacteria does not spread from person to person.