Politics & Government
Exeter Hepatitis C Outbreak Spurs New Legislation
A bill was filed after a hospital worker spread his hepatitis C to 32 unsuspecting patients.
Lawmakers this week passed a bill in response to a hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital.
The bill would require hospitals to drug-test employees if there was "reasonable suspicion of drug use," according to the Associated Press. The bill was passed by House lawmakers and will now go to the state Senate for consideration.
The bill was filed after David Kwiatkowski, a former Exeter Hospital worker, admitted to spreading his hepatitis C to 32 patients by injecting himself with their medication to get high and allowing the tainted syringes to be used on the unsuspecting patients—many of whom were already suffering from serious ailments. Kwiatkowski was sentenced to 39 years in prison.
Read the full Associated Press story
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