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Transmission of Hepatitis C in a Pharmacologic Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Raphael Saginur ,
Judith Nixon ,
Barbara Devries ,
Natalie Bruce ,
Christopher Carruthers ,
Linda Scully ,
Rachel Berger ,
Judy Leech ,
Lindsay Nicolle  and
Andrew Mackenzie
Raphael Saginur*
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Judith Nixon
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Barbara Devries
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Natalie Bruce
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Christopher Carruthers
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Linda Scully
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Rachel Berger
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Judy Leech
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Lindsay Nicolle
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Andrew Mackenzie
Affiliation:
Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
*
Division of Infectious Diseases, Ottawa Hospital-Civic Campus, 1053 Carting Ave, Ottawa, ON K1Y4E9, Canada
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Abstract

Objective:

To describe an outbreak of hepatitis C in a clinical research study.

Design:

Observational study.

Setting:

Tertiary-care hospital.

Patients:

Healthcare workers who volunteered to be subjects in a study of the metabolic effects of inhaled and oral corticosteroids who were unwittingly exposed to hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Methods:

Epidemiological investigation and serological analyses.

Results:

One chronic carrier of HCV was identified. Four fellow workers volunteering in the studies became infected with HCV, with 96% homology among strains. There was no evidence of spread from infected healthcare workers to patients on whom they had performed arterial punctures (2 of 214 positive, unrelated to each other and to the outbreak strain).

Conclusion:

Infection control standards in clinical research must be maintained vigorously to prevent transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as HCV.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 22 , Issue 11 , November 2001 , pp. 697 - 700
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2001

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