DISASTER: More Exeter Hospital Hep C Victims

Even more patients have been infected with hepatitis C – a sometimes fatal liver disease – after an outbreak at last month, officials announced Saturday.

Testing revealed four more people contracted the disease – bring the total to 14.

Four people were found to have contracted the disease when officials first the outbreak. Additional testing this week identified ten more contracted it.

There's a possibility that total could rise even higher – as test results on hundreds of patients are still coming in.

It takes seven to 10 days for results to come back.

Below is a news release Exeter Hospital released Saturday about the situation:

One week after beginning the screening process for identified patients related to the hepatitis C investigation, Exeter Hospital has now reached out via telephone and letter to the 879 identified patients who were treated at the hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab and its recovery unit from April 1, 2011 through May 25, 2012.

Late Friday afternoon, the experts at the state’s Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) informed the hospital that four additional patients have tested positive for hepatitis C and are genetically linked to the previous 10 cases, bringing the total to 14.

This number includes the original four patients who have been genetically linked to the virus. Each of the 14 patients has been notified. The common connection for those patients at Exeter Hospital remains the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. Patients are continuing to come in for testing. It is likely even without any further expansions of the screening period that testing will continue at least throughout next week.

Although the investigation into these cases and their ultimate source is still ongoing, the DPHS determined that Exeter Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab was safe to resume full and normal operations starting on Tuesday, June 5th, following a thorough investigation of all potential ongoing infection risks. Exeter Hospital continues to collaborate with and support the investigation by the state’s experts.

The DPHS has also informed the hospital that as of Thursday afternoon, 422 or 97.2% of the blood samples they have completed testing on have been confirmed as negative by the state’s laboratory, meaning they show no signs of hepatitis C.

The DPHS has informed the hospital they have begun to mail test results to primary care physicians as of the afternoon of Thursday, June 7. This is an ongoing process, and as previously explained, it is likely to take 7-10 days from the time a patient’s blood is drawn for the primary care physician to receive information about negative test results.

Patients drawn last Thursday and Friday should begin to receive information about their results over the next few days. Physicians from Exeter Hospital have called all of the related primary care physicians involved to let them know that test results for their patients are forthcoming. The state has also reached out to these physicians through their routine communication outreach efforts.

Although we know that patients are becoming increasingly anxious to know their results, the DPHS has told Exeter Hospital they are not able to share any of the negative results with the hospital and therefore, we are not in a position to be able to share them with patients. We are continuing to work collaboratively with the state on identifying ways to speed up the notification process.

Exeter Hospital’s Call Center continues to take phone calls and schedule appointments for identified patients at their earliest convenience. Staff members from the Call Center are prepared to take calls Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00pm, and can be reached at (603) 580-6124. The drawing station is taking appointments scheduled through the Call Center Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The investigation continues to evolve and we will continue to share appropriate
information as it becomes available.