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Five inmates at the Luna County Detention Center have tested positive for measles, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
These are the first confirmed cases in Deming, although samples from the city’s wastewater taken on June 10 tested positive for the virus. So far, 86 people have tested positive for measles across New Mexico in Lea, San Juan, Curry, Eddy, Doña Ana, Chaves and Sandoval counties.
Luna County Manager Chris Brice said the inmates were all men, ranging in age from 21 to 39. The vaccination statuses of the inmates were unknown.
The detention center is trying to limit the number of inmates booked into the facility and has asked the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement to write citations whenever possible, Brice said.
“We’re concerned now, to be honest, because it’s airborne, so it could already be spreading,” Brice said. “We’re locking down as much as we can and securing court appearances to be video-only. We’re trying to do our best to keep everybody isolated until we can see what’s going to happen next.”
NMDOH plans to offer immunization clinics at the detention center in the near future, according to Robert Nott, communications director for the department.
“We can’t force inmates or employees to do vaccinations, but we highly encourage them,” Brice said.
The inmates were being quarantined in two separate pods, he said. Each pod is able to hold 40 people, with eight pods total in the detention center. The pods have separate airflows for both intake and exhaust.
Two pregnant employees have been moved to other offices in the county following the infections, Brice said. There are 100 employees at the facility.
“DOH wanted to put them in an overpressurization unit, which we tried to get money to create after COVID, but we were turned down, so we don’t have that type of system in our detention center,” he said.
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Brice said he does not know the origin of the disease but said the facility receives between 20 and 30 people a day, and occasionally holds inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service.
If quarantined inmates need to be released, the facility has no choice but to release them. All five men infected with the virus are federal detainees, so the facility will not have notice prior to their release by the federal courts.
“With the federal inmates, they kind of just tell us the day of,” Brice said.
NMDOH is providing test kits, personal protection equipment and vaccines to the detention center. The department is also checking the vaccination status of the inmates and staff at the facility.
“The cases at Luna County Detention Center are a stark reminder that the measles outbreak in New Mexico is not over,” Dr. Chad Smelser, a medical epidemiologist with NMDOH, said in a statement. “We urge everyone in New Mexico, especially Luna County residents, to ensure that they are fully vaccinated against measles.”
