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Last year’s Hepatitis C outbreak in Scotland County could mean the state will require more needle education for doctors’ offices, a state health official said recently.
The state suspects that seven people were infected with the potentially life-threatening disease because of unsafe injection practices associated with nuclear stress test injections performed at the cardiology practice of Dr. Matthew Block, the mayor of Laurinburg.
Hepatitis C is transmitted through the blood — usually by infected needles — and can lead to liver cancer, liver failure or cirrhosis. Some patients can be treated successfully for the disease through long-term drug treatments, while others may require liver transplants or other forms of treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic’s Web site.
More than 700 people were tested for the infection after the state Division of Public Health sent 1,200 letters in August to patients who took the test at Block’s office between June 25, 2007, and Aug. 26, 2008, said Dr. Zack Moore, a state medical epidemiologist.
After testing, an additional 14 patients were diagnosed with the disease, but they were not necessarily infected from Block’s office, Moore said.
Specifics of the improper injection practices have not been identified, but the North Carolina Medial Board ordered Block in August to quit performing the stress tests in his office. The order was lifted Jan. 28.
In an attempt to prevent future outbreaks, state health officials have proposed a plan that would require at least one staff member from each medical facility in the state to complete an infection control course that includes safe injection practices, Moore said.
“We’ve used it as a way to make our policies stronger,” he said. “As a result, we’ve looked back on our infection control laws in North Carolina and proposed some changes.
“We were a leader in the country in those laws back in 1992. Now we’re just updating it and making them stronger. We’ve also used it as a chance to educate practitioners. Some good has come of it.”
In September, a letter from the state was sent to all licensed health care facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, specialty care clinics and primary care clinics in the state advising them of unsafe injection practices.
Moore said he hopes the new policy will give the state a chance to become more involved with other partners at the local, state and national level.
“This has been — we’ve tried to use this unfortunate incident to make public health stronger,” he said.
The state Division of Public Health will hold a hearing on the proposed changes March 26 in the Cardinal Room at 5605 Six Forks Road in Raleigh.
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