Med Tech Faces Charges For Allegedly Infecting Patients With Hepatitis C

CONCORD, N.H. — A federal prosecutor said Tuesday he expects to bring more charges against a traveling medical technician accused of infecting 30 patients with hepatitis C in New Hampshire, and health officials said they are casting a wider net as they look for more victims.

In his first court appearance on two drug charges, David Kwiatkowski (pictured) briefly answered a judge’s questions, agreeing that there is enough evidence to keep him incarcerated while the case goes to a grand jury. Afterward, U.S. Attorney John Kacavas said more charges are likely, possibly one for each infected patient.

Like us on Facebook!

Kwiatkowski, who was charged last week with fraudulently obtaining drugs and tampering with a consumer product, is accused of stealing anesthetic drugs from the cardiac catheterization lab at Exeter Hospital where he worked, injecting himself and contaminating syringes that were later used on patients. Thirty have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C that Kwiatkowski carries, and more cases are possible as the state expands it testing.

Previously, only patients who had been treated in the cardiac lab were asked to get tested, but testing is now recommended for anyone who had surgery at Exeter Hospital or was admitted to its intensive care unit from April 1, 2011, to May 25, 2012, the timeframe of Kwiatkowski’s employment. According to the hospital, Kwiatkowski occasionally moved patients to operating rooms or the ICU, but he wasn’t involved with procedures or patient care.

“As health care providers, our focus is first and foremost on our patients’ care and safety,” said Nancy Baese, president of the hospital’s medical staff. “We would rather that thousands of our patients be tested by the state even if they all turn up negative than to miss one patient who might have been infected by this alleged criminal.”

The new recommendation covers about 6,000 people, some of whom might have been covered in the previous testing targeting just under 1,300 people, said state public health director Dr. Jose Montero. The testing recommendation doesn’t include patients of the hospital’s ambulatory surgical center.