As many as 40,000 people in Las Vegas may have have been infected with Hepatitis C or HIV as a result of reused syringes and other medical material at Dr Dipak Desai’s clinic. KP Nayar reports from Washington, DC in The Telegraph, Calcutta:
An Indian American doctor is at the centre of what is emerging to be America’s biggest medical malpractice scandal. As many as 40,000 people may have been infected with the deadly hepatitis C virus or HIV from a Las Vegas clinic, owned by Dr Dipak Desai, which has been reusing syringes and medical vials for nearly four years.
Desai, who has been practising medicine in Nevada for 28 years, is an alumnus of Gujarat University and later did his medical residency at the Catholic Medical Center in New York. He is said to be an influential political fixer in Nevada, having made financial contributions to the election campaigns of President George W. Bush and former vice-president Al Gore, among others.
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hepatitis virus is usually carried by blood with the exception of Hepatitis A virus which can be acquired through contaminated food. I am particulary concerned about the local barbershop who does not properly sterilize the hair cutting tools and shaving tools. Razor blades which come in contact with infected blood can transmit the virus in the next customer.