By PAUL HARASIM / RJ
A number of veterans as
well as doctors now
believe that Vietnam
veterans...could have
contracted hepatitis C
through unsafe jet gun
vaccinations.
While it’s possible the government’s position on transmission of hepatitis C among boomers may have resulted in less testing, it’s critical today boomers forget any fears of stigma and get the easy blood test.
State of Georgia officials are
taking a look at a local medical
center. Workers there may not have
followed proper cleaning procedures,
which may have placed hundreds of
patients in danger. WJBF News
Channel 6’s Fraendy Clervaud has the
story.
By
Fraendy
Clervaud
WJBF News Channel 6 Reporter
Published: March 4, 2009
Evans, GA—Leslie
Force: “I kept reading it, and I was
like, how could this happen? I hope
I don’t have any of those diseases.“
Leslie Force is just
one of the nearly 1,300 patients of
Evans Surgery Center who has
received this letter. Force and
others spent the day inside Labcorp.
The letter tells patients to get
tested for a number of diseases
because of concerns over the
sterilization process of endoscopes.
Gerda Haas: “I think
it’s a great idea they have, too,
because I’m afraid they will have
some lawsuits, otherwise.”
A review revealed
that one step during sterilization
was completed in less than five
minutes. The manufacturer of the
scope recommends at least a full
five-minute-cleaning time. So, to be
on the safe side, the center sent
certified letters telling patients
to get blood work, that would test
for Hepatitis B, C, and HIV.
Gerda Haas: “So,
when I looked at it, I was saying,
‘what in the world is going on?‘ It
just made me angry that something
like that can happen.”
These tests are only
for patients who had
gastro-intestinal procedures done
between September 2007 to February
2009. The center released this
statement, saying “the risk of
disease transmission is near zero
since active disinfectant was used.“
The statement also goes on to say,
that so far, they “are not aware of
any infections.“
Leslie Force: “It
upset me pretty bad you know.“
The center is paying
for all those patients to get tested
for free at a local blood lab and
result should be in within a week.
