By BRIAN HAYNES
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Federal health officials have agreed to share their findings with
local authorities in the ongoing investigation of the hepatitis C
outbreak.
Lawyers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on
Tuesday notified the Clark County district attorney's office they
would hand over the contents of their investigation into the
Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, District Attorney David Roger
said.
The contents would include names of the nurses and doctors who
performed procedures on patients who became infected, he said. Roger
said he hoped to have the information soon but had not been given a
timeline by the CDC.
The information sharing will save local investigators from
retracing the steps already taken by the CDC, he said.
"We're happy that the CDC is cooperating," said Roger, who added
that the federal agency did not have to share its information.
A CDC report released last week linked six acute hepatitis C
cases to one of two clinic nurse anesthetists who routinely used
unsafe injection practices, including reusing syringes and single-
use vials of medication. The CDC report did not name the nurses or
doctors involved in the procedures.
Southern Nevada Health District investigators have linked a
seventh acute hepatitis C case to the Shadow Lane clinic and an
eighth case to an affiliated clinic, the Desert Shadow Endoscopy
Center.
Las Vegas police, the FBI and the state attorney general's office
have been investigating the clinic since March. Authorities raided
more than half a dozen medical offices affiliated with the Endoscopy
Center of Southern Nevada and seized thousands of patient records.
The FBI and attorney general's office were focusing on insurance
fraud issues, while local authorities were focused on patient care
and safety issues.
Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-
383-0281.
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