... Plus all strains of Hepatitis.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/16067972.html (click for full article)
Quote:
Forty thousand Nevadans soon will receive word that they might have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis strains B and C in what a federal health official called the largest notification of its kind in U.S. history.
Patients who visited the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada at 700 Shadow Lane between March 2004 and Jan. 11 are being urged to get tested for the diseases as soon as possible.
Health officials cautioned them to practice safe sex and use condoms.
At a Wednesday afternoon news conference attended by health officials and doctors from the facility, officials said six people diagnosed with acute hepatitis C in recent months received treatment at the center near Valley Hospital Medical Center. They are believed to have been exposed to the disease when anesthesiologists reused syringes to administer medications.
The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada is a high-volume gastrointestinal practice where colonoscopies are frequently performed. Reuse of syringes and vials at the facility was a "common practice" undertaken by everyone from doctors to technicians, health officials said.
The business was investigated for other unsafe practices such as not properly cleaning endoscopic equipment used in colonoscopies and upper gastrointestinal procedures.
The medical facility was open for business Wednesday. It could be subject to sanctions or lose its Medicare contract at a later date, state health officials said.
Dr. Eladio Carrera, a gastroenterologist and internal medicine physician at the center, attended the news conference, but he did not address why he and other staffers did not follow correct medical procedures. In a statement, he expressed concern for patients, then refused to take questions.
Dr. Dipak Desai, the center's administrator, was not at the news event and could not be reached later at the office for comment.
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As of now, the clinic has been shut down indefinitely and their license has been revoked. It doesn't even look like it was a case of one or two employees not knowing that it's unsafe to reuse a syringe with a different needle.
I understand the mentality of "the rules don't apply to me," it's pretty much my philosophy in life, but even I can't wrap my mind around how someone could think it's acceptable to reuse single-use equipment. I know very little about medical equipment, but it seems intuitive to me that even autoclaving the syringes and using fresh needles is risky. Isn't it common practice to put protective covers on anything that goes into the body, throw away anything that pokes holes in people, and sterilize absolutely everything? What could motivate this kind of thing as accepted practice? Laziness? Cost?
I hope that at the very least, everyone involved is barred from working in any sort of medical occupation, and charged with reckless endangerment and whatever else can be applied if anyone did get sick. If we can't trust our doctors, who can we trust?
edit: according to someone on Something Awful says that local news places in the area are now saying it's more likely that only 3000 are at risk, but that dozens are confirmed to have been infected with Hepatitis. This is fucked up.