Unprecedented Hep C Testing Nearly Complete

An unprecedented effort to test thousands of patients for hepatitis C after an outbreak at is winding down.

State health officials said they wanted to test about 3,300 patients who may have been exposed to the outbreak, which prosecutors said was started by hospital employee Dave Kwiatkowski. He allegedly spread his hepatitis C to at least 32 Exeter Hospital patients by injecting himself with their medication to get high.

As of Thursday, 2,426 patients had been tested at clinics organized by the state, Exeter Hospital, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, and local doctors. Those who have not been tested have opted not to do.

“This was a tremendous effort to coordinate multi-day clinics in four different communities,” said state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas in a statement. “We could not have accomplished the testing of this many patients in this short of a time frame at these sites without the help of our regional and local public health partners.”

Testing clinics were held in , Plaistow, Rochester and Manchester. Reaction from patients was mixed. Some said the clinics were , others said it was .

Those among the 3,300 identified for testing can still be tested at Portsmouth Regional Hospital's locations in Portsmouth and Hampton.

Kwiatkowski is in jail on fraud and tampering charges. He faces 24 years in prison.