Concerns over potential exposure to hepatitis C have expanded to a second Utah hospital. That follows an announced investigation earlier this month into a patient at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden who contracted the chronic disease two years ago. Utah Department of Health officials say their investigation has expanded to include past patients at Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton. Dr. Angela Dunn is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based at the Utah Department of Health. She says letters urging patients to return for free testing are being sent out.
“We no longer believe that there is an ongoing risk of exposure at either one of these hospitals," says Dunn. "This exposure happened in the past and out of an abundance of caution we are notifying anybody who could have possibly been exposed to the virus.”
Dunn says it’s important they know if they’re infected or not because there may be no symptoms for years.
“So that they can prevent spread of the virus and also get the treatment they need,” Dunn says.
The investigation centers on a former nurse who worked at both facilities and had been stealing medications going back to June of 2011. A statement from the health department says they are working with all healthcare facilities to identify patients who may have been exposed.
