Saturday, May 17, 2008 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Hepatitis C outbreak linked to reuse of syringes, CDC says
The Associated Press
RENO, Nev. — A hepatitis C outbreak was caused by workers improperly reusing syringes and medicine vials at a Las Vegas clinic, federal health officials said Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was contacted by state health officials this year after two people treated at the now-closed Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada were diagnosed with hepatitis C.
Officials linked 84 cases of the liver disease to the clinic after telling 50,000 former patients to be tested.
CDC investigators said in a report to the Nevada State Health Division that during visits to the clinic, they saw employees reusing syringes to give a sedative and that interviews suggested it was common practice.
"This was considered the most likely mode of transmission," the report said.
The CDC said the same syringe was used for an individual patient if more sedative was needed. Backflow into the syringe from an infected patient could have contaminated the sedative vial. The virus could have been passed along from the contaminated vial when it was improperly used for the next patient, the CDC said.
About 400 former patients of the center tested positive for hepatitis C but officials have determined that most could have contracted the virus through other means, including intravenous drug use, blood transfusions, organ transplants or kidney dialysis, receiving blood clotting agents before 1987, or sexual contact with a person with hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C results in the swelling of the liver and can cause stomach pain, fatigue and jaundice. It may result in liver failure. Even when no symptoms occur, the virus can slowly damage the liver.
The Endoscopy Center and several other clinics were headed by doctors Dipak Desai and Eladio Carrera, whose Nevada medical licenses were suspended pending state Board of Medical Examiners hearings.
Las Vegas police seized medical records from the clinics, and the FBI, the state attorney general and the Clark County district attorney are involved in a criminal investigation. The owners of the clinics surrendered business licenses and paid $500,000 in fines.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Napping an increasing trend among busy professionals
Roche bids $44 billion for rest of Genentech
Ailing people scout veterinary pharmacies for drug to end life
A helping hand for our aging mitts

Finding your work/life balance
Author Michelle Goodman serves up fresh tips & trends in the NWjobs.com Nine to Thrive blog.
- Cellphone crackdown: 113 tickets and counting
- Water ride has patrons flashing while splashing
- Bale attends 'Dark Knight' premiere in Spain
- Jarrod Washburn makes sales pitch
- Grand Coulee Dam's immensity dominates Columbia River Basin | Only in Washington
- Some scented household products contain chemicals classified as toxic, UW study finds
- Gates Foundation breaks ground on new headquarters
- Tunnel teardown to close portions of I-405 next month
- Privacy vs. border security: Critics say laptop searches cross the line
- Toll on new 520 bridge could be $6.85 round trip, state study says
- Some scented household products contain chemicals classified as toxic, UW study finds
- Scaly feet? Fish slough rough stuff in pedicures
- Grand Coulee Dam's immensity dominates Columbia River Basin | Only in Washington
- A walking tour of Seattle architecture
- Tunnel teardown to close portions of I-405 next month
- Cellphone crackdown: 113 tickets and counting
- Making the most of your produce
- Merlins nest in Northgate-area neighborhood
- Gates Foundation breaks ground on new headquarters
- The incredible Barack Obama | Charles Krauthammer / Syndicated columnist

