Clinic Caught Reusing Syringes
UPDATE: The problem worsens as health officials find the patient lists are incomplete.
Vegas Hepatitis Exposure List Incomplete
It must be one of the CDC’s worst nightmares and it seems impossible that in this day and age, it could happen. What is it? A clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been discovered to be reusing syringes and vials of medication. What this means to the average person outside of the medical field is that an injection was given, then the syringe (including the needle) after use, was reinserted into the medication vial, and an injection was given to another person.
The risk to patients is potentially fatal. Through this practice, patients would be potentially exposed to hepatitis B and C, and to HIV as well. The beginning of this investigation has revealed that the reuse of needles and vials has been occurring in this clinic for four years. This is also the largest public health investigation in U.S. history.
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At this point:
- The surgical center has been closed
- Five affiliated clinics have been closed
- Six confirmed cases of hepatitis C have been confirmed
- Thousands of patients will be tested
- 80% of hepatitis C cases are asymptomatic
The reason given by the clinic for reusing needles and vials was to cut costs. The owner of the clinic has declined comment but it is interesting to note that he is a member of the governor’s commission on health care, in the state of Nevada.
“I find it baffling, frankly, that in this day and age anyone would think it was safe to reuse a syringe.”
Michael Bell, Associate Director for Infection C, CDC
The report has made worldwide news and comments abound on health forums. The concensus of opinion is that this practice is without excuse and the harshest penalties as allowed by law, should be imposed on physicians involved in this practice. This scandal, as it can only be considered, not only breaks down the safety of the healthcare system, but destroys the trust the public has in medical facilities and personnel.
With hepatitis C only displaying symptoms in 20% of all cases, any patient seen at one these clinics needs to contact their local public health department, or their own physician (unaffiliated with the clinics in question, of course).
Vegas Clinic May Have Sickened Thousands
More Information Including Clinic Names and Addresses
HIV/AIDS Report for U.S. Households Released
We are bombarded with statistics about infectious diseases. This is no more true than with HIV/AIDS. Reports are issued from various reporting agencies and they all seem to be contradictory because they address different groups of people, different locations of the nation or world, different periods of times… it could confuse a statistician.
Approximately half of 1 percent (0.47 percent) of the U.S. household population between the ages of 18 and 49 are living with HIV, according to estimates from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) based on surveys conducted between 1999-2006.
CDC
The quote above is from a recent report that most Americans will be interested in as it is relevant to all population groups. The bottom line is that .47% of Americans are infected with HIV/AIDS.
The report further explains that men are more likely to be infected than women and that African-Americans were infected at a higher percentage than any other racial group. One percent of the .47% had reduced immune system function. One-third of HIV/AIDS patients have healthy immune systems compared with 90% of the non-infected populace.
Full Report - HIV Infection in the United States Household Population - Adobe Reader Required