Surgeon Infected 19 With Hepatitis

Thu., Feb. 29, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

In the first known outbreak of its type in the United States, a Los Angeles surgeon infected at least 19 patients with hepatitis B, even though he wore gloves and took all routine precautions.

Experts say the four-year-old outbreak, reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine, underscores inherent risks of surgery and the fallibility of universally accepted disease control measures.

Exactly how the surgeon passed the blood-borne virus to 19 of his 239 patients is a mystery, but torn gloves might be responsible, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Rafael Harpaz, of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

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Surgeon Infected 19 With Hepatitis

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

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