NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2008
Hepatitis C Danger In Your MD's Office?
Outbreaks Of Dangerous Infection Coming From An Unlikely Place
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Play CBS Video Video At Risk At The Doctor's? Doctor's offices and other outpatient settings have recently been under fire for spreading insidious infections like hepatitis. Dr. Emily Senay reports.
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(AP / CBS)
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Interactive Hepatitis Find out what you need to know about the virus and learn how the liver works.
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Video Archive Eye On Health CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook examines various health issues and treatments.
CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay reports.
"We were completely confounded," McKnight said. "We had no idea where I could have gotten that."
Soon her husband Tom, a family physician in Fremont, Neb., discovered some of his patients had also been infected.
"The only common denominator was that we were all cancer patients," McKnight said.
And they all were receiving chemotherapy at the same cancer-treatment center.
In the end, 99 people were infected, the largest outbreak of its kind in North American history. The cause: Nurses were discarding used needles, but were reusing the syringes, thereby passing the infection from patient to patient.
"It's a constant worry about am I going to wake up and be jaundiced?" McKnight said. "Is this the day that cirrhosis is going to show up?"
Since 1999, The Centers for Disease Control has tracked 31 outbreaks including Norman Okla., at a pain treatment clinic. In 2002, 71 were infected there. Other outbreaks include:
These known outbreaks could be just the tip of the iceberg.
"There's no excuse for this. It's on the order of driving against traffic on the freeway; it's that reckless," said the Center for Disease Control's Dr. Michael Bell.
He blames these outbreaks on sloppy infection-control practices in out-patient settings, which are not regulated as strictly as hospitals.
"The problem with non-hospital settings, ambulatory settings, is that a lot of times there's less of a framework to make sure people do things right every time," Bell said.
Anesthesiologist Rebecca Twersky of Long Island College Hospital demonstrated one way infection can easily be spread with multi-dose vials designed for use on more than one patient.
"What you shouldn't do is take the same syringe that I just used before go back into that bottle and take out the medication," Twersky said. "Even if you've changed the needle, if you're still using the same syringe."
Then you've contaminated the bottle.
"Then in comes the next patient, and you know you go thru the whole process not realizing that patient A might have put their microscopic blood particles into the multi-dose vial," Twersky said.
Evelyn McKnight founded a patient advocacy group and is now lobbying Capitol Hill to mandate better infection control in outpatient settings.
"You should not feel like seeking healthy care is a high-risk behavior," McKnight said. "Every patient deserves to feel safe when they seek health care."
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 53 CommentsThank you Katie.
Geno1a
Thank you Katie.
Geno1a
I am the moderator of the Hepatitis C Outreach Project Forums.
The Hepatitis C Outreach Project just found out about a new HUGE risk to the public. Anyone who works at or enters a hotel could easily be exposed to Hepatitis C.
My friend Eric worked as a server at a large hotel. Recently the hotel hosted a tattoo festival. They had what sounded like a "tattoo marathon". It lasted three days. Eric''s job was to serve alcohol and clean up after the marathon. Here''s what he said :
1- There was blood all over the place. Eric was concerned after the clean up that he may have been at risk. The people he works with said " maybe we should have worn gloves "I asked " are you sure it was blood, not ink?" Eric said " It was definitely blood"
2- Many of the the tattooists were very impaired by alcohol and drugs. Sounds like a horror story. Sounds like a place that could easily have blood to blood contact.
Anyone who enters a hotel with that much blood spill must be trained in the risks associated with bio-hazards. It extends not simply to those participating and cleaning it all up, but to those who come into contact with anything that may have even a drop of blood on it for days after.
Imagine the little flower girl at the wedding reception the day after this event skinning her knee on the carpet ( or in some way being exposed).
There is a Body Art event almost every week at a hotel near you.
PS
Forgive me, but anyone want to talk about tattoos, yet?
www.whyfiles.com search: tattoos
Hepatitis C Outreach Project
Mission Statement
Our mission is to inspire, support and enhance community efforts toward prevention, awareness, education, and treatment of Hepatitis C and promote organ donation.
We are committed to working with any organization, agency, or professional individual to develop partnerships resulting in quality programming and good public decision making based on accurate information regarding Hepatitis C.
We offer our resources and services freely in a spirit of goodwill and generosity, ever mindful of our purpose
We have been established for 15 years. We have spoken before the National Institutes of Health, American Public Health Association, at hospitals, State task Forces, Commissions, Women''s Health Conferences, tolegislators, and anyone who would listen or could be cornered.in the press and in every conceivable corner of the USA and elsewhere. For 15 years.
We have responded where the CDC would not go (ie Hazard, KY) and we continue to tell the truth about hepatitis C where it is neither financially beneficial or welcome information.
I want to know where the money for the newest foundation comes from, directly and indirectly.
Congress already knows.Pharmaceutical lobbyists, the former surgeons general, and many others have been there and done that.
Teresa Hanbey
Hepatitis C Outreach Project
www.hcop.org
We are NOT Leppers & it''s UNFAIR that the general public thinks it''s a DRUGGIE disease. ANY where or way a person can have blood to blood contact is a RISK. NO one is talking & making the young pierced & tattooed generation AWARE of the RISK they are taking. Over 5 MILION AMERICANS with Hep C. PLEASE stay the course & get the TRUTH about this disease out so we can get the funding we so desperately need to find a CURE & a VACCINE at this time we have NEITHER. Only a vicious treatment with lots of side effects & about a 30% SVR Sustained Viral Response at BEST & that''s ALL geno types combined. Type 1A is the MOST common & HARDEST to treat. About 70% of ALL Hepatitis C is geno type 1A. Think about it our Vets got it from air gun injections serving our country. A hair cut, a trip to the nail salon, sharing a razer, nail clippers & the list goes on. The JURY is out on *** depending on who you believe the risk is quoted from 5 to 15%. AGAIN NO one is getting the MESSAGE out. PLEASE DON''T drop this story it is ONLY the beginning & YOU are the ANGEL & MESSENGER we ALL have been PRAYING for.
DRSLETMEDOWN
Please check out my website;
Hep C Support Group
http://groups.msn.com/HEPCSUPPORTGROUP
Here''s yet another case for the books. This will continue unchecked as long as there is no loud and clear awareness campaign in place.
Polio was beating because the public was aware, Hep-c wwill always win until it is screamed loud and clear and not hidden away in STD/HIV clinics where the majority of the ones infected have no reason to go.
Feb. 27, 2008 The Southern Nevada Health District..40,000 patients of a Las Vegas Endoscopy Clinic ...at risk ..for Hepatitis C and other diseases. ... large-scale patient notification that was just announced moments ago. The joint investigation identified the re-use of syringes (not needles) and the use of single dose vials of anesthesia medication on multiple patients as the potential sources of contamination.
http://www.hcvets.com/data/transmission_methods/endoscopes2008.htm
Harry Hooks
Forum Manager HCVets.com
Health District notifies patients of potential exposure to hepatitis C urges testing for approximately 40,000 patients
The Southern Nevada Health District announced it is notifying approximately 40,000 patients of a local medical clinic about potential exposure to hepatitis C following an investigation of several acute cases of the illness. Patients who had procedures requiring injected anesthesia at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, located at 700 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas will begin to receive letters this week. The health district%u2019s notification includes patients who had procedures at the clinic between March 2004 and January 11, 2008, and recommends they contact their primary care physicians or health care providers to get tested for hepatitis C as well as hepatitis B and HIV.
The health district identified a cluster of three acute cases of hepatitis C in January 2008 and has identified a total of six cases to date. Five of the cases had procedures requiring injected anesthesia on the same day. The joint investigation identified the re-use of syringes (not needles) and the use of single dose vials of anesthesia medication on multiple patients as the potential sources of contamination.
Read more at: http://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/press_releases/2008/022708b.html
My Father was a Marine
My brother was Navy
I was Air Force
Almost everybody in my family has an old Military Dress Uniform hanging in the closet.
In 2003 I was diagnosed by the VA with HCV and cirrhosis in 2005.
My Doc said I had a 30% chance to win, but I fought until I sometimes felt like the chemo was killing me and I went through hell for a year, but I WON !!!
I BEAT HCV INTO REMISSION.
Now the VA says I''m cured and refuses to test me for cancer and HCV regular, "You''re cured, go home."
Please don''t say CURED OF HCV until accredited universities, insurance companies and the blood bank says it.
Viruses are not alive, so they can''t die, they just get held down by anti-bodies, hopefully for the rest of your life.
I spent 30 years with undetected HCV, I don''t want to die now from undetected cancer because I''m "cured".
One last thing, it''s mathematical so be careful:
If 26,000,000 vets got innoculated (DoD estimate)
and at least 10% may have HCV
how come nobody is warning these 2,600,000 vets to get tested?
Each hour of every day 3 people in the USA die from HCV related illness,
Two of them have military connections.
Please warn them so they don''t have to get sick like I did.
Paul Conklin
Salisbury, NC
My Father was a Marine
Good Luck
Butch
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