Vegas hepatitis C outbreak spurs new laws

Nevada officials have praised new laws spurred by a hepatitis C outbreak in Las Vegas that led to the largest patient notification in U.S. history, saying it will lessen the chance for a similar problem in the future. Five measures dealing with the issue were passed this session by Nevada lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Jim Gibbons. The bills surfaced after more than 50,000 patients at two now-closed outpatient clinics were notified last year that they may have been exposed to blood-borne diseases by shoddy injection practices.