Brandon clinic's patients warned of hepatitis C outbreak

Hillsborough County health officials have sent letters to patients of a Brandon holistic medicine clinic warning them to get tested in the wake of an outbreak of hepatitis C among some who received treatment there last year.

The letter mailed out on Feb. 2 and signed by Hillsborough County Health Department Director Doug Holt said that an investigation began in July into patients at Wellness Works who had come down with hepatitis C. A total of about 175 letters were posted, said David Atrubin, an epidemiologist with the health department.

It appears that eight patients of Wellness Works have contracted hepatitis C, he said. The disease is fairly common, so those infected may have had it before getting their intravenous procedure there.

"Just because they test positive for hepatitis C, doesn't' mean they got it there," he said.

But testing is continuing, he said. The public is in no danger.

In October, the clinic sent letters to all the clinic patients advising them to be tested for the blood borne disease that can result in liver damage. Since then, 120 patients have been tested for hepatitis C and other blood borne pathogens.

Health department investigators said that Wellness Works patients contracted the virus at the clinic "due to a failure to follow standard procedures when preparing and administering intravenous therapy."

The letter said that Wellness Works has since taken steps to remedy the problem as health department investigators continued to monitor the practices.

The letter is a reminder to patients who have not been tested to schedule an examination. It also suggests patients should be tested six months after their intravenous treatment, even if they have been tested before.

"We focused on patients who had intravenous therapy or had blood drawn over a specific period of time," Atrubin said. He said similar outbreaks occur on occasion around the country, "but in Hillsborough County, it's not something we deal with routinely."

He said the investigation is continuing and he can't say what procedures were done to expose patients to the disease.

A spokeswoman for Wellness Works could not be reached for comment this afternoon.