Hepatitis C cluster near Baltimore probed
Outbreak may be linked to medical tracer agent, officials say

The Associated Press
Updated: 12:40 p.m. ET Dec. 10, 2004


BALTIMORE - A company that makes substances used in some common medical tests
has suspended operations at a nuclear pharmacy in Maryland as state and federal
health officials investigate several cases of hepatitis C in the Baltimore area,
authorities said Thursday.


Those who contracted the disease may have received injections from the same vial
of a tracer agent prepared at a Cardinal Health Inc. facility in Timonium,
company spokesman Jim Mazzola said.

“From what we understand, there is a possible commonality of a single vial of
tracer agent,” Mazzola said from Dublin, Ohio, where Cardinal Health is based.

State officials did not say how many people developed the liver disease, but
Mazzola said the substance was administered to “no more than 16 patients” on
Oct. 15.

The substance is among several common factors in the hepatitis C cases that are
being investigated, said Karen Black, a spokeswoman with the state Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene.

Nuclear pharmacies, which serve hospitals and imaging centers, make tracer
agents that are injected into patients and then scanned or tracked through their
bodies. Common tests include checking for arterial blockages, Mazzola said.

Mazzola said Cardinal has been cooperating with the department and the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State health officials have contacted hospitals to ask that they report any
hepatitis C cases immediately, Black said.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by a virus. It can be transmitted when
blood or body fluids from an infected person enter the body of a person who is
not infected. It causes between 8,000 deaths and 10,000 deaths in the United
States each year, according to the CDC.

If left untreated, hepatitis C can result in liver damage, which can lead to
serious conditions such as liver cancer or cirrhosis.
© 2004 The Associated Press

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Sandra Tara Balduf (Ane)

Frontline Hepatitis Awareness

Support for patients and educational materials

http://frontline-hepatitis-awareness.com

1-866-Hep-GoGo 866-437-4646





Sandra Tara Balduf (Ane)

Frontline Hepatitis Awareness

Support for patients and educational materials

http://frontline-hepatitis-awareness.com

1-866-Hep-GoGo 866-437-4646




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