CONCORD, N.H. (AP) —
After one false start, New Hampshire health officials again are
announcing plans to test thousands of people who may have been exposed
to hepatitis C by a hospital technician now facing criminal charges.
David
Kwiatkowski is accused of stealing drugs from Exeter
Hospital's cardiac catheterization lab and contaminating syringes that
were used on patients, 30 of whom have been diagnosed with the same
strain of hepatitis C he carries. Officials
originally asked only lab patients to get tested, then expanded the
request to the roughly 3,400 people who had surgery or were admitted to
the intensive care unit during his employment.
The state had
scheduled clinics for last weekend but canceled them because there were
too many details to work out. Officials are announcing the new plan
Friday afternoon.
