LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - US officials Thursday said 40,000 people
may have been infected with HIV and hepatitis in a major health
scare after a Las Vegas clinic was found to have re-used syringes
and medicine vials
Authorities in southern Nevada said they were notifying some
40,000 patients who received anesthesia injections at the clinic's
endoscopy center between March 2004 and January 11, 2008 about
potential exposure to hepatitis and HIV.
They recommended in a statement that the patients "contact their
primary care physicians or health care providers to get tested for
hepatitis C as well as hepatitis B and HIV."
The move comes after several acute cases of hepatitis C showed
up in the area. Six people have been diagnosed with the disease
since January, which is three times higher than the yearly average
for the Las Vegas region.
The three first cases came to light in January, and three other
patients were subsequently found to have been infected with
hepatitis C.
Five of the infected people all received anesthesia injections
on the same day in the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in the
sprawling city of Las Vegas.
No cases of HIV or hepatitis B infections related to the
clinic's practices have been detected yet, authorities said.
After an investigation, "the health district determined that
unsafe injection practices related to the administration of
anesthesia medication might have exposed patients to the blood of
other patients," it said.
"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."
Action has since been taken by the clinic to end such
practices.
"It appears the injection practices that can lead to the
transmission of hepatitis C and other bloodborne infections have
been occurring at this clinic for several years," said chief health
officer Lawrence Sands.
"We are recommending all patients during this timeframe to get
tested because we cannot determine which patients may have been
exposed."
Hepatitis C can result in severe liver damage, but the symptoms
may not show up for several years so even if patients are feeling
well they should be tested, he warned.
The health authorities added however that the risk to the
general population was low as hepatitis cannot be spread by casual
contact.
The clinic said in a statement that it has taken corrective
measures.
"On behalf of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, we want
to express our deep concern about this incident to the many
patients who have put their trust in us over the years," the
statement read.
"As always, our patients remain our primary responsibility and
we have already corrected the situation," officials at the facility
said.
"We have already taken steps to ensure that it will never happen
again ... We want to be sure that every patient who may have been
exposed is informed and tested."
The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada said it was working with
"nationally renowned experts who have extensive epidemiological
experience" on how best to proceed, as it tried to tamp down public
fears.
"We wish to emphasize that the actual risk of anyone being
affected by this is extremely low, but as a precaution, anyone who
has undergone procedures at the Endoscopy Center who required
anesthesia should be tested."
