What conditions in 16th-century European houses of correction caused disease to spread among prisoners?

In 16th-century European houses of correction, the primary factor contributing to the spread of disease was poor sanitation within the institutions.1

These facilities held prisoners in unsegregated conditions, failing to account for differences in gender or legal status. This lack of separation, combined with inadequate sanitary standards, facilitated the transmission of illnesses, most notably epidemic typhus—a disease frequently referred to as "jail fever". These outbreaks were so severe that they often claimed the lives of not only the inmates but also jailers and, on occasion, legal professionals involved in the judicial process.1