(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Most people don’t go to the doctor expecting to
come away with a potentially deadly infection. But that’s what’s happening too
often to people whose health care professionals don’t follow standard guidelines
for infection control.
According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), 33 outbreaks of hepatitis B and C affecting 450 people have been noted in
outpatient clinics, hemodialysis centers and long-term care facilities in 15
states over the past decade. The report blames the outbreaks on the failure of
health care personnel to follow basic rules for infection control. Common
factors in these incidents included reusing syringes and blood contamination of
medications, equipment and devices.
“This report is a wake-up call,” Dr. John Ward, director of the CDC's Division
of Viral Hepatitis, was quoted as saying. “Thousands of patients are needlessly
exposed to viral hepatitis and other preventable diseases in the very places
where they should feel protected. No patient should go to their doctor for
health care only to leave with a life-threatening disease.”
Combating the problem will require ongoing education of health professionals
about proper infection control techniques, along with greater oversight by the
states aimed at detecting and preventing the transmission of infections in
health care settings, notes the government agency. The CDC launched a number of
initiatives to address the problem, including improving viral hepatitis
surveillance and investigation, strengthening state and local prevention
programs, and improving education and promoting safe care practices in all of
the settings concerned.
SOURCE: CDC press release, published online January 6, 2009
