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Volume 32, Number 3—March 2026

Dispatch

Rapid Interventions to Limit Outbreak of Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae in Correctional Facility, North Carolina, USA, 2024

Camden D. GowlerComments to Author , Emma Doran, Niketa D. Williams, Justin P. Albertson, Ty Lautenschlager, Sopio Chochua, Ryan Gierke, Arthur Campbell, Miwako Kobayashi, Aaron Fleischauer, and Erica Wilson
Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (C.D. Gowler, S. Chochua, R. Gierke, M. Kobayashi, A. Fleischauer); North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (C.D. Gowler, E. Doran, N.D. Williams, J.P. Albertson, T. Lautenschlager, A. Fleischauer, E. Wilson); North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, Raleigh (A. Campbell)

Main Article

Table

Demographics and risk factors of pneumococcal infections by case classification among patients in correctional facility, North Carolina, USA, June 14–July 30, 2024*

Category Confirmed Probable Suspected
Total no. cases
 5
 1
 8
Median patient age, y (range)
 42 (39–62)
 29 (NA)
 54.5 (30–68)
Race
Black or African American 5 (100) 1 (100) 5 (62.5)
White
 0
 0
 3 (37.5)
Work status
None 1 (20) 0 2 (25)
Poultry plant 2 (40) 0 1 (12.5)
Other work† 2 (40) 1 (100) 5 (62.5)
Current
 2 (40)
 0
 NA
Smoking status‡
Former 2 (40) 0 NA
Never
 1 (20)
 1 (100)
 NA
Select signs and symptoms
Fever 2 (40) 1 (100) 0
Cough 4 (80) 1 (100) 8 (100)
Radiograph-confirmed pneumonia 5 (100) 1 (100) 0
Clinical signs of sepsis 4 (80) 1 (100) 0
Lumbar puncture–confirmed meningitis
 1 (20)
 0
 0
Testing and treatment
Treated with antibiotics§ 5 (100) 1 (100) 8 (100)
Positive culture from normally sterile site 5 (100) 0 0
Hospitalized 5 (100) 1 (100) 0

*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. NA, not applicable. †Other work includes custodial staff, kitchen, and municipal worker (any job except at the poultry plant), some of which occurred outside the correctional facility. ‡Smoking status was determined by medical record review. Records were only available to sufficiently review confirmed and probable cases. §Empiric treatment with antibiotics only. Postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis was not administered, but providers might have had a higher suspicion of pneumococcal disease after the outbreak began.

Main Article

Page created: February 07, 2026
Page updated: March 20, 2026
Page reviewed: March 20, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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