3 KS hospital patients linked with hep C outbreak

Three patients treated at a northwest Kansas hospital in 2010 have tested positive for a strain of hepatitis C "closely related" to a cluster of cases in New Hampshire traced to a traveling hospital technician. Kansas officials notified more than 400 people last month that they may have been exposed to hepatitis C by a technician who worked at the Hays Medical Center's cardiac catheterization lab from May 24 to Sept. 22, 2010. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Tuesday that 375 former Hays Medical patients had submitted blood for testing as of Aug. 27. Of that number, 353 were negative for hepatitis C. Tests on the others are pending. Another 58 patients could not be tested because they are already deceased.