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Medical Clinic Notifies Patients of Possible Hepatitis Exposure During Exams
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An equipment malfunction at Kaiser Permanente of Redwood City, CA may have exposed 2,116 patents to Hepatitis C, a disease which attacks the liver. From Oct 30, 2003 to May 3, 2004, equipment used in gastro-intestinal exams was not properly sterilized.
"[The instruments] went through a thorough manual cleaning before being put into the machine, so the risk to patients is very minimal," Kaiser spokesman Richard Drumm told KCBS (SF) reporter Holly Quan.
Kaiser sent out certified letters this week to each patient who underwent procedures involving the improperly sterilized equipment.
A maintenance worker discovered the malfunction in May, 2004 and fixed it. However that worker did not realize the impact that the malfunction could have on patients' health, which is why Kaiser has not informed affected patients until now.
Drumm said that each of the 2,116 can come into Kaiser and receive free Hepatitis C testing. So far ten percent of those contacted by Kaiser have taken advantage of the blood tests.
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