(February 19, 2010) Evelyn McKnight, co-founder and president of Hepatitis Outbreaks National Organization for Reform (HONOReform) and one of 99 patients infected with hepatitis C while undergoing cancer treatment at a Nebraska oncology clinic in 2001, issued the following statement in response to the announcement of the outbreak of hepatitis C at the Wellness Works clinic in Brandon, Florida.
“I am stunned to receive news that as many as eight Floridians, and maybe more, have contracted hepatitis C during the course of their medical treatment at a holistic medicine clinic in the Tampa area,” McKnight said. “I want to send my heartfelt wishes and thoughts to these patients. I also want to recognize how frightening and challenging it is for all people who receive letters notifying them that they have possibly been exposed to hepatitis and other diseases during a medical procedure.”
In the last three years, over 150,000 patients across the US have been notified to get tested for HCV, HBV, and HIV because of potential exposure to these diseases when improper procedures were used in health care settings. Last year, an article by the CDC revealed the occurrence of 33 outbreaks of viral hepatitis in health care settings over the last decade. All of these outbreaks occurred in non-hospital settings and involved failure on the part of healthcare providers to adhere to fundamental infection control practices, most notably by reusing syringes. This horrific trend must be reversed.
Among the aims of HONOReform is outreach to people affected by outbreaks. Along with a variety of public and private partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HONOReform is helping launch the One & Only Campaign (“One Needle, One Syringe, Only One Time”), which is currently being piloted in Nevada and New York. The goal of the One & Only Campaign is to educate consumers and reeducate providers on the absolute importance of safe injection practices. Our hope is that the One & Only Campaign, through education and awareness activities, help eliminate these "never events."
"As a survivor of an outbreak myself, I understand the pain and anguish that many people in Florida and beyond are feeling right now," McKnight said. "HONOReform stands in support of the patients affected with hepatitis C in the Brandon clinic, and we do so by continuing to promote safe injection practices – achieved through incentivizing adherence to safe practices, promoting enhanced, safe engineering methods, and educating consumers and providers.”
www.honoreform.org
www.oneandonlycampaign.org
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