Hepatitis C outbreak at Singapore General Hospital

[Pathfinder]

Two more SGH patients test positive for hepatitis C

PUBLISHED: 8:04 PM, OCTOBER 23, 2015UPDATED: 12:53 AM, OCTOBER 24, 2015

SINGAPORE ? Two more patients from the Singapore General Hospital?s (SGH) renal ward which saw a hepatitis C outbreak have tested positive for the virus, although it is not clear yet whether they contracted the virus from the cluster.
...
The two new infections come from the screening the hospital has carried out on 601 patients who had stayed in the ward between January and June this year ? the first case from the outbreak was detected on April 17, and news of the incident was made public on Oct 6.
...
So far, 23 patients have been identified as being part of the outbreak cluster. Among them, eight have died, with five of the deaths possibly linked to the virus outbreak.

Today, SGH said one patient it was trying to contact for screening has died from advanced cancer while under palliative care. It has ruled out hepatitis C as a contributing cause, based on the patient?s medical history.

This is the 31th death that is unrelated to the hepatitis C outbreak among the pool of patients who had passed through the affected ward...

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/two-more-patients-test-positive-hep-c-sgh

 

[Pathfinder]

SGH Hep C outbreak: About 350 more patients to be screened

PUBLISHED: 8:38 PM, OCTOBER 28, 2015UPDATED: 8:53 PM, OCTOBER 28, 2015

SINGAPORE ? The Independent Review Committee (IRC) looking into the Hepatitis C outbreak at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has recommended that more patients should be screened to verify that precautionary measures put in place by the hospital have been effective.

In a statement to the media, the committee said that the screening period should be extended to include patients warded in Ward 64A and Ward 67 from July to end of September. According to SGH, which has agreed with the committee?s advice, the total number of patients to contact is about 350.
...
As of 5pm today, 601 patients have been screened, of whom 594 were tested negative. So far, three patients ? two announced on Oct 23 and one announced on Oct 21 ? have tested positive for the virus. Four test results are pending.

A total of 311 staff have also been screened, of which 310 results tested negative. One test result is pending.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/sgh-hep-c-outbreak-about-350-more-patients-be-screened