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June 15. 2012 10:46PM
Answers sought over hepatitis C outbreak
EXETER — As many as 27 patients who were tested for possible hepatitis C infection as part of an investigation into an outbreak at Exeter Hospital will have to be retested after their blood work failed to arrive at the state lab before expiring, a state health official said Friday night.
The spoiled tests only added to the stress for patients like Terry Murphy, who blasted Exeter Hospital at a public meeting attended by about 150 people, many of whom demanded answers as the state investigates the first outbreak of hepatitis C linked to a hospital in New Hampshire.
Exeter Hospital had no representatives to answer questions at Friday night's meeting at Exeter High School — something that infuriated some patients.
“Exeter Hospital can share hepatitis C with us, but they can't share information. Why?” asked Murphy, a 63-year-old Exeter resident who was first tested for the disease on June 8 and learned Thursday night that his blood test never made it to the state lab in time for proper testing and now he must be tested a second time.
Of the more than 550 people tested so far, 20 have tested positive for an identical strain of hepatitis C, a potentially fatal disease that is spread through contact with infected blood and can attack the liver over a period of many years.
State health officials linked the outbreak to the hospital's cardiac catheterization lab.
Dr. Jose Montero, the state's public health director, said officials believe the source of the outbreak was a hospital employee who misused drugs. Montero blamed the outbreak on drug diversion, meaning the employee likely used some medication in a syringe meant for a patient and then returned the syringe to be used again on the patient.
“This shouldn't happen ever. Not here, not anywhere else,” Montero said.
The circumstances surrounding the outbreak and the employee likely behind it are under investigation by state public health officials, Exeter Hospital and the state Attorney General's office.
One of the 20 patients was a hospital worker, but Montero wouldn't say whether that's the same person believed to be responsible. Montero said the one worker with hepatitis C “is not working currently.”
The outbreak has already prompted lawsuits and several lawyers were on hand to question the investigation and the way the state and hospital are handling a case that some say should be turned over to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At this point, Montero said the earliest that a person was infected at the hospital was in June 2011. It's not clear how long the employee who likely caused the outbreak worked at the hospital.
Several of those who attended Friday's meeting were among the hundreds who were treated in the cardiac cath lab between October 2010 and last month and told they had to be tested.
One woman spoke on behalf of her husband, whom she said tested positive for hepatitis C in November and then was asked to be tested again when the outbreak was discovered in May. She said the second test came back positive and now they're waiting to see if it's the same strain. He suffers from heart failure, and she's worried that it could complicate his treatment.
Connie MacDougall, 78, of Exeter, had open heart surgery and visited the cath lab in February. She was relieved when she learned her test was negative, but she must be tested again in six months because the disease can remain dormant for some time.
“I kept thinking, 'Well, I feel pretty good,' but I can't rely on that,” MacDougall said.
Thomas Cahill, 67, of Strafford, was a patient in the cath lab last December and also had to be tested, but his results were negative.
“I was a little nervous about it. I wasn't sure what was going on. I just went in for open heart surgery and I didn't want any more problems,” he said.
While his results were negative, he must also be rested in six months.
“It's still in the back of my mind,” Cahill said.
jschreiber@unionleader.com
The spoiled tests only added to the stress for patients like Terry Murphy, who blasted Exeter Hospital at a public meeting attended by about 150 people, many of whom demanded answers as the state investigates the first outbreak of hepatitis C linked to a hospital in New Hampshire.
Exeter Hospital had no representatives to answer questions at Friday night's meeting at Exeter High School — something that infuriated some patients.
“Exeter Hospital can share hepatitis C with us, but they can't share information. Why?” asked Murphy, a 63-year-old Exeter resident who was first tested for the disease on June 8 and learned Thursday night that his blood test never made it to the state lab in time for proper testing and now he must be tested a second time.
Of the more than 550 people tested so far, 20 have tested positive for an identical strain of hepatitis C, a potentially fatal disease that is spread through contact with infected blood and can attack the liver over a period of many years.
State health officials linked the outbreak to the hospital's cardiac catheterization lab.
Dr. Jose Montero, the state's public health director, said officials believe the source of the outbreak was a hospital employee who misused drugs. Montero blamed the outbreak on drug diversion, meaning the employee likely used some medication in a syringe meant for a patient and then returned the syringe to be used again on the patient.
“This shouldn't happen ever. Not here, not anywhere else,” Montero said.
The circumstances surrounding the outbreak and the employee likely behind it are under investigation by state public health officials, Exeter Hospital and the state Attorney General's office.
One of the 20 patients was a hospital worker, but Montero wouldn't say whether that's the same person believed to be responsible. Montero said the one worker with hepatitis C “is not working currently.”
The outbreak has already prompted lawsuits and several lawyers were on hand to question the investigation and the way the state and hospital are handling a case that some say should be turned over to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At this point, Montero said the earliest that a person was infected at the hospital was in June 2011. It's not clear how long the employee who likely caused the outbreak worked at the hospital.
Several of those who attended Friday's meeting were among the hundreds who were treated in the cardiac cath lab between October 2010 and last month and told they had to be tested.
One woman spoke on behalf of her husband, whom she said tested positive for hepatitis C in November and then was asked to be tested again when the outbreak was discovered in May. She said the second test came back positive and now they're waiting to see if it's the same strain. He suffers from heart failure, and she's worried that it could complicate his treatment.
Connie MacDougall, 78, of Exeter, had open heart surgery and visited the cath lab in February. She was relieved when she learned her test was negative, but she must be tested again in six months because the disease can remain dormant for some time.
“I kept thinking, 'Well, I feel pretty good,' but I can't rely on that,” MacDougall said.
Thomas Cahill, 67, of Strafford, was a patient in the cath lab last December and also had to be tested, but his results were negative.
“I was a little nervous about it. I wasn't sure what was going on. I just went in for open heart surgery and I didn't want any more problems,” he said.
While his results were negative, he must also be rested in six months.
“It's still in the back of my mind,” Cahill said.
jschreiber@unionleader.com
