Criminal Probe Launched in Hep C Outbreak

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.

Exeter Hospital just released the following statement:

The Attorney General’s Office has now formally announced that it has launched an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the hepatitis C cases at Exeter Hospital. Exeter Hospital welcomes this investigation, and is planning to cooperate with the Attorney General’s Office as we continue our own investigation into the possible cause.

With the initiation of this investigation, Exeter Hospital intends to refrain from providing any additional public comments specifically related to these hepatitis C cases or the ongoing investigations. We will continue to provide updates on our efforts to reach out to and test all potentially affected patients who were treated in our Cardiac Catherization Lab between October 1, 2010 and May 25, 2012.

As of 4:00 p.m. today, we have now contacted all identified patients by phone, including the 316 newly identified patients who received care at the Cardiac Catherization Lab between October 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. We are continuing to schedule appointments and a letter to all of the newly identified patients has also mailed today.

We will continue to share appropriate information as it becomes available.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office today released this statement about its investigation into the hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital:

In response to numerous media inquiries regarding the Hepatitis C outbreak at the Exeter Hospital, Attorney General Michael A. Delaney announces that his office has commenced an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the outbreak of patients who were treated at the hospital.  The Attorney General’s Office has worked and continues to work with the Exeter Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police to determine what, if any, criminal laws have been violated in regard to the outbreak.

UPDATE, 11:30 a.m.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office is now investigating the hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital that was likely caused by a , according to Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams.

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Criminal charges, new legislation, and huge lawsuits seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages are likely in a hepatitis C outbreak at that has infected at least 20 people – with even more victims expected.

A hospital worker abusing drugs is the likely cause of the outbreak, according to Jose Montero, New Hampshire's public health director.

The worker is suspecting of using a tactic called "drug diversion." That's when a hospital worker feeds a drug habit by injecting him/herself with drug-filled syringes, replacing them with saline or water, and then allowing them to be used on unsuspecting patients as if they were still filled with drugs. Diseases can be spread if the worker has something like hepatitis C because the person is passing on his or her contaminated needles for use in patients.

Montero declined to identify the worker or say what drugs the person was abusing.

This case will go on for years – as criminal charges, lawsuits, and even new legislation could all be in the pipeline.

The situation is nearly identical to the case of Kristen Parker, a drug-addicted Colorado surgery technician who in 2010 was sentenced to 30 years in prison for infecting 36 patients with hepatitis C in a drug diversion scheme.

Parker, who has hepatitis C, was convicted of injecting herself with the narcotic Fentanyl at the hospital where she worked. She replaced the needles with saline, and they were then used on patients.

Prosecutors originally recommended 20 years in prison for Parker, but a judge added on 10 more years because of the severity of the case, according to CBS News.

In the aftermath, Colorado lawmakers created legislation introducing enhanced security measures to prevent future drug diversion incidents. Several other states have similar legislation. New Hampshire is not one of them – yet.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office has not said if it has opened an investigation yet in the Exeter case.

Exeter Patch asked for a statement from Exeter Hospital on Montero's revelation that an employee likely started the outbreak. The hospital has yet to respond.

The source of the outbreak was Exeter Hospital's cardiac catheterization lab, health officials have said. They expect the victim toll to rise as more test results from the hundreds of patients who used the lab come in.

Exeter Hospital will likely face big lawsuits. Sokolove Law, a Massachusetts-based law firm, has been running advertisements on WMUR-TV reaching out to victims and the hundreds of people who have had to undergo testing.

In terms of scale, the largest hepatitis C outbreak in U.S. history occurred in 2008 at a medical center in Nevada. More than 100 people were infected with the disease and at least one has already died from it.

Hepatitis C is a chronic liver disease that's especially deadly in older patients. At least of the 14 Exeter victims is over the age of 55 – and that patient is currently battling lung cancer, too.

In the Nevada case, victims successfully sued the medical center and drug companies for more than $500 million dollars in damages. It was the largest settlement of its kind. The source of the infection was traced to medical staff reusing syringes to treat patients. A doctor in the case is currently facing a trial on a host of criminal charges, including fraud.

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