The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services continues to work with Exeter Hospital to determine the source and scope of the hepatitis C outbreak.
All 10 affected individuals—9 patients and 1 employee— have had a connection with the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab. They have been diagnosed with the same strain of the virus.
Exeter Hospital has expanded testing to include patients associated with the lab between April 2011 and August 2011—that’s several months beyond the original timeline.
The state’s Public Health Director, José Montero, says the scope of testing could still increase.
Certainly we will recommend expanding the testing if our findings and the samples that we have here guarantee that that’s the right thing to do.
Exeter Hospital has sent close to 500 samples to the state for analysis. The hospital has notified every patient who meets the current criteria for testing.