Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about a massive Hepatitis C outbreak that occured at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire. Hospital officials attribute the outbreak among patients to prescription drug diversion, or the illegal use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes. It seems the hospital was right–David Kwiatkowski, a 31-year-old lab technician who worked at Exeter Hospital was indicted last week for spreading Hepatitis C to 31 patients at Exeter and potentially thousands of other patients at hospitals where he previously worked.
Kwiatkowski is being called the "serial infector" and has been allegedly stealing syringes of the anesthetic Fentanyl, injecting it into his own arm and refilling the empty syringe with liquid-like saline. He tested positive for Hepatitis C in June 2010. He was a temporary employee at Exeter Hospital but has also worked at 8 other hospitals in 13 states.
Kwiatkowski was arrested and indicted on July 19, but was picked up by law officials a week before after he was discovered at a Holiday Inn in Massachusetts. He was intoxicated, surrounded by pills and appeared to be trying to commit suicide. He faces up to 24 years in prison and each offense carries about to a $250,000 fine.
