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40,000 Patients Potentially Exposed to Hepatitis, HIV due to Clinic's Re-Use of Syringes in Unsafe Injection Practices
About 40,000 patients of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas are being urged to get tested for bloodborne diseases like hepatitis and HIV. It is reported that anesthesiologists exposed patients to infection by using multiple-dose vials of medications and re-using syringes between individuals.
Patients were exposed to these unsafe injections between March 2004 and January 2008. So far, doctors have found six acute cases of hepatitis C in patients from the center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that anyone who may have had a procedure completed at the center be tested for HIV and hepatitis strains B and C, as all of the diseases can be transmitted through the same unsafe injection practices identified as the likely source of transmission.
Surprisingly, this is not an isolated case. The same unsafe injection practices have been happening for many years. As reported by CNN, a medication safety alert newsletter distributed to hospitals across the country in 1996 warned that a similar outbreak should serve as a wake-up call. That warning was 12 years ago.
Medical professionals know the danger of contamination from syringe re-use and multi-dose vials, yet patients are still being exposed to disease due to these unsafe practices.
New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines has asked the FDA....
Patients were exposed to these unsafe injections between March 2004 and January 2008. So far, doctors have found six acute cases of hepatitis C in patients from the center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that anyone who may have had a procedure completed at the center be tested for HIV and hepatitis strains B and C, as all of the diseases can be transmitted through the same unsafe injection practices identified as the likely source of transmission.
Surprisingly, this is not an isolated case. The same unsafe injection practices have been happening for many years. As reported by CNN, a medication safety alert newsletter distributed to hospitals across the country in 1996 warned that a similar outbreak should serve as a wake-up call. That warning was 12 years ago.
Medical professionals know the danger of contamination from syringe re-use and multi-dose vials, yet patients are still being exposed to disease due to these unsafe practices.
New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines has asked the FDA....
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