Health & Fitness

6 More Hepatitis C Cases Found In Good Samaritan Outbreak

Six new cases have been confirmed in addition to the two initial cases, health officials said Thursday.

PUYALLUP, WA - Health officials have found six new cases of hepatitis C connected to an outbreak at Good Samaritan Hospital. That brings the total number of hepatitis C cases up to eight. Another three cases are being tested for a link to the outbreak.

Last month, the health department and Good Samaritan announced that thousands of ER patients may have been exposed to the virus. The outbreak was initially blamed on a nurse, but prosecutors have declined to press charges against her.

The nurse, Cora Weberg, 31, has tested positive for hepatitis C through an antibody test, according to health officials. That means she once had the virus and her immune system fought it off. However, there is no test to link those antibodies to the genetics of the hepatitis C strain in the outbreak.

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About 1,600 have been tested for hepatitis C in connection to the outbreak - half the number of people who were potentially exposed.

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