Hepatitis C Virus Potentially Transmitted by Opioid Drug Diversion from a Nurse — Washington, August 2017–March 2018 | MMWR

Hepatitis C Virus Potentially Transmitted by Opioid Drug Diversion from a Nurse — Washington, August 2017–March 2018 | MMWR

MMWR Surveillance Summaries (No. 4)
PDF of Surveillance Summaries issue

• Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance — United States, 2016
  Saswati Sunderam, PhD; Dmitry M. Kissin, MD; Yujia Zhang, PhD; et al.

MMWR Weekly (No. 16)
PDF of the weekly issue

• Consumption of Alcohol Beverages and Binge Drinking Among Pregnant Women Aged 18–44 Years — United States, 2015–2017
  Clark H. Denny, PhD; Cristian S. Acero, MPH; Timothy S. Naimi, MD; et al.
  
  
  Drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
  
• Preliminary Incidence and Trends of Infections with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2015–2018
  Danielle M. Tack, DVM; Ellyn P. Marder, MPH; Patricia M. Griffin, MD; et al.
  
• Hepatitis C Virus Potentially Transmitted by Opioid Drug Diversion from a Nurse — Washington, August 2017–March 2018
  Henry N. Njuguna, MD; Denise Stinson, MN; Patricia Montgomery, MPH; et al.

Hepatitis C Virus Potentially Transmitted by Opioid Drug Diversion from a Nurse — Washington, August 2017–March 2018

Weekly / April 26, 2019 / 68(16);374–376

Henry N. Njuguna, MD1,2; Denise Stinson, MN3; Patricia Montgomery, MPH2; Nigel Turner, MPH3; Marisa D’Angeli, MD2; Jason Carr, MPH3; Sara Podczervinski, MPH2; Cathy Wasserman, PhD2; Sumathi Ramachandran, PhD4; Todd Lucas, MD5; Danae Bixler, MD4; Kiran Perkins, MD5; Isaac Benowitz, MD5; Anne Moorman, MPH4 (View author affiliations)

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

U.S. health care facilities are required to prevent, identify, and report any loss, diversion, or theft of controlled substances. Tampering with injectable narcotic drugs can expose patients to infections.

What is added by this report?

Routine surveillance detected acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in two hospital emergency department patients. Investigation identified an outbreak of at least 12 HCV infections in patients who had received opioid injections from a nurse who admitted to diverting injectable narcotic drugs.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Health care facilities and public health partners should recognize the potential for infections and other harms from drug diversion and minimize risks by storing controlled substances securely and routinely scrutinizing drug access logs.