North Carolina Nursing Home Hepatitis Deaths Linked to Dirty Needles

The reuse of dirty needles at a North Carolina nursing home probably caused the deaths of at least five elderly residents, according to state investigators. 

There have been eight diagnosed cases of hepatitis B among residents at Glencare of Mount Olive Assisted Living Center in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Five of those people have died and the likely cause of the infections was the reuse of needles used to check blood glucose levels in diabetic patients, according to health department officials.

Officials say that each resident of the assisted living center should have had their own private glucose testing kit, but instead the facility used the same kits and needles for multiple patients.

North Carolina health department officials have issued a new corrective plan meant to prevent similar problems in the future. The facility has one week to respond to the state’s recommendations.

In August, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a joint safety alert reminding health care workers nationwide not to reuse needles. The reuse of needles is considered by the medical community an event which should never happen and for which there is no reasonable excuse. Federal health officials say, however, that they have seen a steadily increasing number of blood borne hospital acquired infections over the past 10 to 15 years caused by the reuse of fingersticks, which are small lancets designed to cause a patient’s finger to bleed to get a small blood sample.

The most notable increase has been the spread of Hepatitis B infections in nursing homes, both in long-term care and assisted living settings. However, the increases are present in a wide variety of health care settings.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver. Symptoms can vary widely, with some patients being completely asymptomatic, others experiencing acute viral hepatitis, and some patients developing fatal liver disease. It is estimated that one-third of the world’s population now carries the disease, particularly in third-world countries and places with poor health care.