Deadly Diseases from Improper Injection Practices

Ben Glass

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Several media outlets have broken the story that officials from the U.S. Army have confirmed that 16 patients have tested positive for Hepatitis B and C. According to reports from the Associated Press (AP), the Army said those patients were likely exposed to the dangerous blood borne illness due to improper injection practices.

According to the AP, the 16 patients at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center were just a fraction of the more than 2,000 diabetics who may have been exposed to Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HBC) and other blood borne illnesses. The AP noted that the Army said multiple patients had been administered injections from the same insulin pen. Texas’ El Paso Times reported that each insulin pen is meant for use by one person, but between August 2007 and January 2009, multiple patients were injected with the insulin pens. According to Journal Now, multiple patients were “systematically” injected with the same pen.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that its decade-long review showed that more than 60,000 patients have been placed at risk for potentially deadly, blood-borne infectious diseases. The CDC said that within the past decade, thousands of patients in the U.S. have been asked to undergo testing for HBV and HCV due to improper infection control practices.

According to the CDC’s review of outbreak data, there were 33 identified outbreaks that took place outside of hospitals across 15 states within the past 10 years, with 12 taking place in outpatient clinics, six taking place in hemodialysis centers, and 15 taking place in long-term care facilities. Those outbreaks accounted for a total of 450 people who acquired HBV or HCV infections.

According to the CDC’s report, health care personnel failing to follow basic infection control procedures and “aseptic” techniques in injection safety is to blame for the patients’ exposure. The CDC said that syringe reuse and medication, equipment, and device blood contamination were common reasons for the exposure issues.