Published Date: 2012-08-11 17:39:30
Subject: PRO/EDR Hepatitis C – USA (11): (KS), 2 NH-related cases
Archive Number: 20120811.1240034
HEPATITIS C – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (11): (KANSAS), TWO NEW HAMPSHIRE-RELATED CASES
**************************************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 10 Ag 2012
Source: The Kansas City Star, Associated Press report [edited]
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/10/3756621/2-test-positive-in-kansas-for.html
Hepatitis C cases may be linked to traveling hospital technician
—————————————————–
Two patients treated at a Hays, Kansas, hospital in 2010 have tested positive for a strain of hepatitis C “closely related” to a cluster of 30 cases in New Hampshire traced to a traveling hospital technician, health officials said Friday [10 Aug 2012].
Kansas officials notified more than 400 people last month that they may have been exposed to hepatitis C by David Kwiatkowski, who worked at the Hays Medical Center’s cardiac catheterization lab from May 24 to Sept. 22, 2010. Kwiatkowski is accused of causing an outbreak at a New Hampshire hospital where he was fired in June [2012]. Authorities believe he stole anesthetic drugs from a hospital lab, injected himself and contaminated syringes later used on patients. He has worked in at least 18 hospitals in eight states and was fired from two. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral infection that can cause liver damage and chronic health problems.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said that of 334 former Hays Medical patients who submitted blood as of Thursday, 311 were negative for hepatitis C. Tests on others are pending. Only patients who underwent cardiac catheterization procedures while Kwiatkowski worked at Hays were potentially put at risk, the state said. The hospital initially identified 474 such patients, but that included 54 people who died of various causes before the July alerts.
–
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap alerts
promed@promedmail.org
[It is still unclear what procedure or procedures in use in the catheterization laboratories in many different hospitals enabled an itinerant technician apparently to be able to return contaminated syringes to general use. There is still a lack of clarity in the reporting of these incidents. It is relevant also to know precisely the extent of the relationship between the Kansas viruses and the viruses in the New Hampshire cluster.
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, The interactive HealthMap of Ellis county is available at: http://healthmap.org/r/32-K. - Mod.CP]
See Also
Hepatitis C – USA (10): (NH) alert extended to GA 20120802.1226398
Hepatitis C – USA (09): (NH) alert extended to MI 20120731.1223206
Hepatitis C – USA (08): (NH), expanded screening 20120725.1214984
Hepatitis C – USA (07): (nationwide) alert 20120723.1212166
Hepatitis C – USA (06): (NH) nosocomial 20120720.1209390
Hepatitis C – USA (05): (NH) nosocomial 20120713.1200939
Hepatitis C – USA (04): (NH) nosocomial 20120704.1188998
Hepatitis C – USA (03): (NH) nosocomial 20120614.1168491
Hepatitis C – USA (02): (NH) nosocomial 20120610.1163427
Hepatitis C – USA: (NH) nosocomial 20120608.1161473]
………………………………………….sb/cp/lm
Article source: http://healthmap.org/ln.php?1240034&promed&0