|
Top Guns with the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) are
going on the offensive to
prevent veterans from
getting service connected
disability for HEPATITIS C
transmitted by airgun shots
before, during, and
after the Vietnam War.
Three decades after the end
of the war, hundreds of
thousands of brave men and
women who served their
country are dying, and the
Bush Administration is
fighting their attempts to
get pensions and adequate VA
medical treatment. An
estimated 95% of all claims
are denied, despite reliable
scientific evidence.
In April 2002, a delegation
of members representing the
HEPATITIS C Movement for
Awareness (HMA) and
HCVets.com, a HEPATITIS C
military claims support
organization for families,
went to Washington DC on a
mission to educate
representative concerning
HEPATITIS C related issues.
The delegation had
appointments with
Congressional and Veterans
Affairs representatives.
One of these meetings was
with Lawrence Deyton MSPH,
MD Chief Consultant, Public
Health Strategic Health Care
Group, for the VA.. Members
met specifically with Dr.
Deyton to expressed concern
regarding transmission
methods for the HEPATITIS C
virus listed by the VA, and
the need to reform
qualifications for testing
Veterans. Those attending
the VA will not get tested
because they did not use
drugs or become an
alcoholic, risk factors used
to qualify patients for
testing. Members requested
Dr. Deyton include reused
needles, vials, syringes and
airguns in this
determination to test
Veterans.
Dr. Deyton acknowledged
these risks, stating "his
hands were tied". He stated,
"Anyone receiving airgun
injections, should get
tested for HEPATITIS C."
Deyton did not just say
"Veterans", says Ed
Wendt, Vietnam era Veteran,
transplant survivor and
HMA's Government Relations
Director. Quoting
members who attended the
meeting, Deyton
implied "everyone" receiving
shots administered by the
now defunct style airguns,
should be tested.
HMA
published Dr. Deyton's quote
in an upcoming newsletter
which resulted in a Veteran
service connected for
HEPATITIS C at the regional
VA level. The decision was
based on that quote, plus
other evidence submitted
that demonstrated the
products used to
sanitize & disinfect
medical and dental
equipment, did not kill the
HEPATITIS C virus.
In order
to counteract the decision
and avoid accountability for
the 2 plus million service
related infections, the
Department of Veterans
Affairs Veterans Benefits
Administration, in charge of
the regional office that
approved the claim, issued a
"Fast Track" letter, a sort
of report, to all regional
offices, calling Dr.
Deyton's quote, a misquote.
But, Wendt,
says, "we did not misquote
Dr. Deyton as the
allegations suggest in the
VBA Fast letter." "Members
were very clear on what they
heard." Further quotes were
made by Dr. Deyton to the
Kansas City Star's
investigative report Mike
McGraw. Dr. Deyton is quoted
as saying,
"it's
possible the devices could
transmit HEPATITIS C:
Deyton continues, "I am sure
that, with the right degree
of misuse, the devices could
become contaminated."
In the Fast Track letter,
Carolyn F. Hunt, Acting
Director, for Compensation
and Pension Service states:
"..needles
(and other objects that
puncture the skin) are
contaminated with HCV
infected blood and are then
used by others, HCV can be
transmitted. HCV can
potentially be transmitted
with reuse of needles for
tattoos, body piercing, and
acupuncture.",
".......infections may have
come from blood-contaminated
cuts or wounds, contaminated
medical equipment or
multi-dose vials of
medications."
 Vaccinations
were routinely given with
multi-dose vials and reused
needles.
Injection give by the
airguns included HEPATITIS B
vaccine; responsible for the
outbreak of AIDS in New York
City, in which an astounding
64% of the men who got the
vaccine developed AIDS
and other blood-borne
viruses. Access is not
available for testing stored
patients blood samples for
HEPATITIS C infection rate
The U.S. Department of
Justice is keeping this
information "classified" and
"unavailable" for public
research and investigation..
Ms. Hunt also states,
"Blood-contaminated cuts or
wounds can spread HEPATITIS
C". "This statement speaks
volumes", says Harry Hooks,
Vietnam combat Veteran and
manager of HCVets.com.
"Airplane and auto
mechanics, or others at risk
for cuts, that shared rags
to wipe the wound, could be
at risk. HEPATITIS C lives
for weeks after the blood
has dried. It can be
reconstituted and transmit
to others."
In the letter, Ms. Hunt
continues to say "It is
essential that the report
upon which the determination
of service connection is
made includes a full
discussion of all modes of
transmission, and a
rationale as to why the
examiner believes the airgun
was the source of the
veteran’s HEPATITIS C."
But Hooks says, "Veteran's
submitted convincing
scientific studies, military
reports and physicians
letters in support with
their claims, showing the
only risk for their
HEPATITIS C infection was
the service." Evidence
submitted, such as the
"Vaccines in the Military:"
A Department of Defense-Wide
Review of Vaccine Policy and
practice; an Infectious
Diseases Control
Subcommittee of the Armed
forces Epidemiological Board
review presented in August
1999. Page 61 discusses the
Paris Island Air Force
inspection in which
inspectors indirectly
observing high volume
recruit immunization using
jet injectors. It was noted
"jet
injector nozzles were
frequently contaminated with
blood,
yet sterilization
practices were frequently
inadequate or not followed."
The complete report can be
viewed here
Military
Veterans also submitted
government testimony in
support of their claims.
Such as the
statement by Robert
Harrington, owner of the
company PED-O-JET, maker of
the military airguns used on
the troops. During a meeting
with the FDA, VA and others,
he states
"if the
gun was not wiped off, it
could contaminated
31 out of 100 patients."
Despite
their efforts, the claims
are denied.
"All
people that served in the
military know the airguns
were not wiped off for
military application", says
Hooks.
"The
VA would prefer if veterans
evidence was not included",
Hooks continues, "according
to correspondence with a
Pittsburgh VA, the VA has a
staff of medical personnel
to review information and
provide judgment based on
their training and research.
The problem is, say's Hooks,
"to the best of my
knowledge, no one's training
these adjustors about
HEPATITIS C transmission. I
think the denial rate for VA
claims proves that."
"One thing is very clear",
says Tricia Lupole, National
Director for HMA, "It's the
VA lacking rationale, the VA
denied service connection to
one Veteran shot in the
chest in Vietnam in 1968 and
transfused. He died from
HEPATITIS C liver cancer in
2003. Another patient was
hospitalized with HEPATITIS
during military service and
the VA claims his HEPATITIS
C is not service connected.
Yet another, denied because
he fell within the group
that, according to the VA,
has "no clue" how the virus
was transmitted; virtually
ignoring every statement Ms.
Hunt made.
A claim recently denied,
would not acknowledge the
fact the Veteran found a
buddy stationed with him
during most of his service.
The buddy also has the same
strain of HEPATITIS C. The
virus has many different
types of strains, called
genotypes. There are 6
different genotypes and over
50 subtypes within those
strains. The state and
federal court system use a
test to determine "same
source" infection when
exposure to the virus occurs
though hospital neglect,
meaning that science can
tell if people were infected
by the same source. But, the
VA will not run this test or
accept any evidence to
support it. We're not going
to let the VA get away with
this."
Lupole
says, "Despite the attempts
to portray HCVets.com an
unreliable source, the
letter works to the Veterans
advantage because it
acknowledges possible ways
for transmitting the virus
previously denied by the VA
claims adjusters.
Claims that are pending or
previously denied, should
consider this as critical
evidence to include.
More
information on service
related transmission methods
for the HEPATITIS C virus
can be found at
http://hcvets.com
http://hcvets.com/data/transmission_methods/SterilantsDisinfectants.htm
evidence submitted that
demonstrated the products
used to
sanitize & disinfect
medical and dental
equipment, did not kill the
HEPATITIS C virus.
http://www.march-on-dc.com/National/News/2005/02/data/JobRelatedInfection.htm
|
Jet injectors
may be ideal for mass immunization programs but not until design
refinements eliminate their capacity to transmit blood-borne infections,
say researchers working in England.
The Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) is the national reference centre
for medical microbiology in the UK. CPHL provides specialist expertise and
advice to the Regional PHLS laboratories, NHS hospital laboratories,
consultants in communicable disease control, community and hospital
physicians, environmental health officers, government and industry.
"The
challenge was to solve the pathogen transfer problem while retaining the
advantages of the needle-free injector system.
