The Health Ministry on Monday launched an epidemiological investigation into potential negligence in a Jerusalem hospital, after five people who underwent medical tests there on the same day were diagnosed with hepatitis C. All five cases were traced back to computerized axial tomography scans that included the injection of a contrasting agent, performed in Misgav Ladach Hospital in the capital on March 17. Seven other individuals, who underwent CAT scans on the same day, were contacted by ministry officials and asked to come in for additional testing. Hepatitis C is an infectious disease that primarily affects the liver. About 80% of those exposed to the virus develop a chronic infection, placing them in higher risk for liver failure, liver cancer, or esophageal and gastric varices. There is no vaccine against hepatitis C. "The Shaare Zedek Medical Center [in Jerusalem] has diagnosed three cases of acute hepatitis C, all of which were traced back to CAT scans performed at Misgav Ladach," Professor Itamar Grotto, head of the Health Ministry's Public Health and Disease Prevention Department told Israel Hayom. "The review so far has found two more cases, one in Hadassah Medical Center's Mount Scopus campus, and another in its Ein Kerem campus, also involving the same date and injected contrasting agent," he explained. "Since hepatitis C infections involve primarily blood-to-blood contact, we believe the intravenous process is linked." Grotto stressed that "these incidents are limited to a specific date, and we know of 12 people who were given a contrasting agent. It will take time to determine the origin of the infection." Misgav Ladach has temporarily closed its imaging center, referring patients to other centers in Jerusalem. Meuhedet Health Care, Israel's third-largest health care services provider that operates Misgav Ladach, said the measure was a precautionary one, and that it was cooperating with the Health Ministry's investigation in full.
