Reused Needles Reportedly Infect Patients With Hepatitis C

http://www.wnbc.com/news/1542383/detail.html

Thousand Of Patients Tested

POSTED: 8:07 a.m. EDT July 3, 2002

UPDATED: 8:42 a.m. EDT July 3, 2002

NEW YORK -- A Brooklyn anesthesiologist reportedly infected at least 19 patients with hepatitis C by improperly reusing hypodermic needles.

A city Health Department report found that Marvin Chiumento, an anesthesiologist at the Bayridge Endoscopy and Digestive Health Center, probably caused the outbreak by reusing a vial of medication and needles that had been infected by a procedure on a patient with hepatitis C.

The Health Department tested more than 2,000 patients who were treated at the medical clinic between September 2000 and April 2001, detailing the results in a 22-page report.

Hepatitis C is a potentially fatal liver disease caused by a blood-borne virus spread by contact with the blood of an infected person.

About 85 percent of infected people develop chronic disease; which over a 10- to 20-year period can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and cancer.

Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.