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June 13. 2012 9:14PM
Hospital hepatitis outbreak linked to employee
Linked articles:
Official says shared syringe eyed as possibility in hepatitis probe
Exeter Hospital says it has contacted all patients who need testing after hepatitis outbreak
Six more infected with same hepatitis strain found at Exeter Hospital
Official says shared syringe eyed as possibility in hepatitis probe
Exeter Hospital says it has contacted all patients who need testing after hepatitis outbreak
Six more infected with same hepatitis strain found at Exeter Hospital
CONCORD — State public health officials have determined that six more patients treated at Exeter Hospital contracted hepatitis C, and that the most likely source of the outbreak was an employee who used syringes to inject drugs.
The announcement brings the total number of cases to 20 since the outbreak — the first in the state involving a blood-borne disease at a medical facility — was announced two weeks ago. One of the infected people is a hospital employee. Officials would not say whether the employee is the same person suspected of injecting drugs.
State Director of Public Health Dr. Jose Montero said at a news conference Wednesday that he expects the number of cases to rise as officials extend the period of time for which they will be testing patients from May 25 back to October 2010. All of the confirmed hepatitis C cases so far were treated at Exeter's Cardiac Catheterization Lab and its recovery unit.
Hepatitis C is a potentially fatal liver disease commonly spread through exposure to blood.
“It is really disturbing,” Montero said. “We as a department want to make sure health care quality is maintained in all situations. We're working closely with all parties to make sure all the procedures were in place that should have prevented this from happening. We're not done investigating.”
The outbreak is already triggering legal action. A Manchester malpractice attorney is representing four Exeter patients who contracted the disease.
Montero said all of those infected have been informed by health officials. In a change of policy, the agency is contacting by phone all of those tested.
“We were doing this in the mail, but people were getting anxious,” he said.
Of the 731 samples tested as of Wednesday, 629 were determined to be negative. Officials are working with the federal Centers for Disease Control in their investigation.
Because of the likelihood that drug diversion — an employee injecting drugs — was the cause of the outbreak, Montero said investigators will seek to determine if the employee worked in other parts of the hospital.
The conclusion that drug diversion was the likely source of the outbreak was based on “interviews with employees, patients and an analysis of hospital data,” Montero said.
Montero said he could not comment on whether a specific employee has been identified as the likely drug abuser, nor would he say whether police were involved.
Exeter Hospital first informed public health officials about the possible outbreak on May 15, two weeks before they publicly announced the outbreak, with four confirmed cases. The “cath lab” was shut down May 25, and it was reopened June 5, after tests showed that the lab and employees who worked there were free of the disease.
Among those attending the news conference Wednesday was Mark Abramson, the Manchester attorney representing four of the patients who contracted hepatitis C. He plans to bring a malpractice lawsuit against Exeter Hospital.
“Exeter has not stepped up at all,” he said. “We keep hearing little bits of information. There are probably thousands of people who are scared to death.”
In a statement, an Exeter spokesman said: “Exeter Hospital continues to collaborate with and support the investigation by the state's experts. As this investigation continues to evolve, we will continue to share information as it becomes available.”
Ted Siefer may be reached at tsiefer@unionleader.com.
The announcement brings the total number of cases to 20 since the outbreak — the first in the state involving a blood-borne disease at a medical facility — was announced two weeks ago. One of the infected people is a hospital employee. Officials would not say whether the employee is the same person suspected of injecting drugs.
State Director of Public Health Dr. Jose Montero said at a news conference Wednesday that he expects the number of cases to rise as officials extend the period of time for which they will be testing patients from May 25 back to October 2010. All of the confirmed hepatitis C cases so far were treated at Exeter's Cardiac Catheterization Lab and its recovery unit.
Hepatitis C is a potentially fatal liver disease commonly spread through exposure to blood.
“It is really disturbing,” Montero said. “We as a department want to make sure health care quality is maintained in all situations. We're working closely with all parties to make sure all the procedures were in place that should have prevented this from happening. We're not done investigating.”
The outbreak is already triggering legal action. A Manchester malpractice attorney is representing four Exeter patients who contracted the disease.
Montero said all of those infected have been informed by health officials. In a change of policy, the agency is contacting by phone all of those tested.
“We were doing this in the mail, but people were getting anxious,” he said.
Of the 731 samples tested as of Wednesday, 629 were determined to be negative. Officials are working with the federal Centers for Disease Control in their investigation.
Because of the likelihood that drug diversion — an employee injecting drugs — was the cause of the outbreak, Montero said investigators will seek to determine if the employee worked in other parts of the hospital.
The conclusion that drug diversion was the likely source of the outbreak was based on “interviews with employees, patients and an analysis of hospital data,” Montero said.
Montero said he could not comment on whether a specific employee has been identified as the likely drug abuser, nor would he say whether police were involved.
Exeter Hospital first informed public health officials about the possible outbreak on May 15, two weeks before they publicly announced the outbreak, with four confirmed cases. The “cath lab” was shut down May 25, and it was reopened June 5, after tests showed that the lab and employees who worked there were free of the disease.
Among those attending the news conference Wednesday was Mark Abramson, the Manchester attorney representing four of the patients who contracted hepatitis C. He plans to bring a malpractice lawsuit against Exeter Hospital.
“Exeter has not stepped up at all,” he said. “We keep hearing little bits of information. There are probably thousands of people who are scared to death.”
In a statement, an Exeter spokesman said: “Exeter Hospital continues to collaborate with and support the investigation by the state's experts. As this investigation continues to evolve, we will continue to share information as it becomes available.”
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Ted Siefer may be reached at tsiefer@unionleader.com.
