Nearly 1,000 people will be screened to check if they were affected by the hepatitis C outbreak at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) — a figure that is much higher than initially thought.
Figures provided by SGH last night said the affected renal ward admitted 678 patients from January to June, where they were cared for by 273 doctors and nurses. The first case of the outbreak, which has infected 22 patients, was diagnosed on April 17.
As of 6pm today (Oct 8), the hospital managed to contact 298 of these patients, of whom 251 have fixed appointments. It has also screened 78 patients, as well as 169 staff.
The 42 doctors and 51 nurses who provided direct care to renal patients have also been screened, and the hospital is extending the tests to other doctors who covered the ward during the period.
SGH said results of these tests are available after one week. The hepatitis C virus has an incubation period of between two weeks and six months.
The unprecedented viral outbreak, which was made public on Tuesday, is possibly due to a lapse in the use of multi-dose medication vials.
Eight of the 22 affected patients have died. Among these deaths, four are linked to the virus infection, while a fifth is under review. Two of the remaining 14 survivors are still warded.
The number of patients SGH is recalling for screening for the virus now differs from what was said during the media briefing three days ago.
At that time, Professor Fong Kok Yong, chairman of SGH’s medical board, said: “We will be calling back patients who passed through the ward from January to June 2015, and to date, we’ve actually looked through all those who passed through and we’ve identified 411 of them, whom we’ll be calling back just to check.”
Today, SGH said there were 267 patients from January to March, and 411 from April to June. Ward 64A is SGH’s renal ward, but underwent renovations from April to June. Patients were diverted to Ward 67.
SGH did not respond to TODAY’s queries on why the lower figure was given initially.
Since Tuesday, 157 patients who did not stay in the renal ward during that period have also made enquiries about the hepatitis C cluster, said an SGH spokesperson.
“The hospital reassured them that patients in other wards and visitors need not be screened as the hepatitis C virus is not air-borne,” she added.
Speaking at a book launch and awards ceremony this morning, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong spoke briefly about the hepatitis C virus outbreak.
“As a healthcare family, we are all saddened by the hepatitis C Cluster at SGH. Our thoughts are with the patients and their families,” he said. “We will provide them with the necessary support and treatment, and we will learn from this incident and improve ourselves.”
Mr Gan did not take questions from reporters at the event.
Source: www.todayonline.com
