The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, has fired a radiologic technologist (RT) after learning that the individual was the possible source of transmission for three cases of hepatitis C infection in transplant patients.
In a press release, the Mayo Clinic said that the patients had undergone interventional radiology procedures at the hospital. The employee was removed from patient care as soon as the hospital became aware that he was possibly involved in the transmissions, and he was terminated on August 25 after he admitted to taking drugs intended for patients.
One of the patients is believed to have died from contracting the disease, according to WOKV.com, the website operated by radio station WOKV of Jacksonville. A news story carried by the website said that the RT admitted to injecting himself with the narcotic fentanyl, and then placing the used syringe but not the needle back where it came from. The employee was identified because his strain of hepatitis C was similar to that of the infected patients.
The Mayo Clinic is working with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during its investigation of the incident. The hospital is also contacting patients who may have been affected by the RT's actions.
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