Ottawa says 6,800 exposed to infection risk

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/ottawa-says-6-800-exposed-infection-risk-203655633.html

Ottawa says 6,800 exposed to infection risk

CBC – 20 hours ago

Ottawa Public Health says it will send letters to nearly 7,000 people who had

procedures at a local medical facility to warn them they may have been exposed

to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.

Stressing that he is not aware of any people who have become ill, Ottawa's

medical officer of health Isra Levy said the letters are being sent so people

can be made aware of the risk.

" Even though the risk of infection to those who had the procedures related to

this issue is very low, I wanted to ensure that affected patients are made aware

of the situation, so they can consider being tested for these infections, " said

Levy, at a hastily called news conference on Saturday afternoon.

Ottawa Public Health said it has been investigating an unnamed non-hospital

facility for the past several months because of " lapses in infection control. "

Because OPH doesn't know exactly when the lapse started, the 6,800 patients who

will be contacted by registered letter next week cover a 10-year period.

" We don't know how long the problem has been going on for. We were notified at

public health earlier in the summer, " Levy said.

Levy wouldn't say exactly what the " lapse " was, but did say there are a number

of reasons why problems arise including the improper cleaning of equipment and

inadequate sterilization.

The risk to patients is very low and that " at this time we are not aware of any

person, any individual, who has become ill related to this lapse. "

Levy said OPH will provide more information on the situation next week.

[Guest guest]

Was Bill Clinton selling untested Arkansas prison inmate blood again?

Seriously though, this happens a lot more often than people think. Either the machines don't work, people don't use them correctly or maybe the germs have adapted to certain processes, it happens. Just another reason to avoid going to the doctor.

In a message dated 10/16/2011 1:01:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Ottawa Public Health says it will send letters to nearly 7,000 people who had procedures at a local medical facility to warn them they may have been exposed to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.