DENVER, Jul 24, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A federal grand jury indicted a
surgical technician in Denver for allegedly spreading hepatitis C to 19
patients, authorities say.
Jeffrey Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Colorado, said
Kristen Diane Parker allegedly confessed to police she would inject herself with
syringes of painkillers from Rose Medical Center's surgery rooms and then refill
the used syringes with saline, The Denver Post said Friday.
"Nineteen people tested positive for hepatitis C who had surgery at Rose Medical
Center, have the same genotype as Parker and did not have hepatitis C prior to
surgery," Dorschner said.
Parker, 26, was indicted on 21 counts of product tampering and 21 counts of
obtaining a controlled substance by deceit. In addition, Parker is facing three
counts of theft of the narcotic fentanyl.
"I would like to reassure the victims of Kristen Parker that prosecuting this
case is a priority and that their interests will be well-represented," David
Gaouette, acting U.S. attorney for Colorado, told the Post.
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