Posts
Some Bermudians may have been
infected with Hepatitis C while patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, thus,
the US facility has asked the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) to assist in
collecting blood to forward to them for testing. The Baltimore, Md., facility
is investigating whether any hospital patients were exposed to hepatitis C
while a cardiac catheterization technician, who has since been implicated in an
outbreak of the viral infection in a New Hampshire hospital, was working there.
The technician worked at Johns
Hopkins for two 13-week periods from July 10, 2009 to January 9, 2010. He was
not an employee of the Baltimore hospital but worked for an agency that placed
him there. The issue centers around contaminated syringes that hospital
personnel later used on patients at the hospital.
A total of 1,567 Johns Hopkins
patients have been sent letters notifying them of the situation and offering
them free testing. Kim Hoppe, associate director of Communications and Public
Affairs for John Hopkins Children’s Center, could not say how many of the
letters were sent to Bermudians, but at least one Bermudian received a letter
and went for testing.
Any individual who had a cardiac
catheterization at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between July 10, 2009 and January
9, 2010, should call the toll-free number 1-855-546-3785. Patients are being
told the results of their tests and counseling is being arranged for any with
the hepatitis C infection. Johns Hopkins is one of several hospitals possibly
affected and is offering free testing.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
