TUESDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Failure to follow basic infection practices placed more than 60,000 U.S. patients at risk for hepatitis B and C, a new U.S. government review reported Tuesday.
The review, published in the Jan. 6 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, concluded that health care personnel in settings outside hospitals failed to follow basic infection control practices. Reuse of syringes and blood-contamination of medications, equipment and devices were identified as common factors, the study found.
Transmission of HBV and HCV while receiving health care had been considered uncommon in the United States, but the study revealed 33 identified outbreaks outside of hospitals in 15 states, during the past 10 years: 12 in outpatient clinics, six in hemodialysis centers, and 15 in long-term care facilities, resulting in 450 people acquiring hepatitis infections.
"This report is a wake-up call," Dr. John Ward, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of viral hepatitis, said in an agency news release. "Thousands of patients are needlessly exposed to viral hepatitis and other preventable diseases in the very places where they should feel protected. No patient should go to their doctor for health care only to leave with a life-threatening disease."
CDC officials said the findings showed the need for ongoing professional education and oversight for health care providers, as well as:
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Date last updated: 07 January 2009 |