WASHINGTON — Nebraskan Evelyn McKnight offered a sobering point Thursday at a White House event on hepatitis.
Much of the afternoon's conversation dealt with "at-risk populations," such as IV drug users and people who had received blood transfusions many years ago.
"I brought forward that we talked a lot about at-risk population, but everybody in the room, everybody in the country, who accesses health care is an at-risk population," McKnight said. "That's how I contracted hepatitis C, was just accessing regular health care."
McKnight was one of 99 people infected with hepatitis C while receiving treatment at the Fremont Cancer Center.
State health officials linked the infections to reused syringes and other poor infection control practices at the clinic. The 2002 outbreak was the largest in U.S. history at the time.
The White House event was part of the first World Hepatitis Day, an effort to focus attention on the hepatitis epidemic and ways to strengthen monitoring, prevention and treatment programs.
Between 3.5 million and 5.3 million Americans are living with chronic viral hepatitis, and an estimated 15,000 Americans die of chronic viral hepatitis each year. Worldwide, nearly 500 million are living with chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C.
The White House event included policymakers, researchers, health care providers and patients.
McKnight said it was rewarding to be that close to the Oval Office, discussing the situation with top health officials.
Co-founder and president of the group HONOReform, McKnight has been leading the charge to step up education efforts aimed at preventing outbreaks such as the one in Fremont. She also was on Capitol Hill this week briefing aides to members of Congress.
She urged lawmakers to support continued funding for programs such as the One and Only Campaign, which stresses the importance of using one needle and one syringe only one time.
She also called for a Government Accountability Office study of outbreaks and their costs, as well as legislation that could aid prevention.
"Although it is sobering, our Nebraska outbreak is not an isolated incident," McKnight told them.
She said in the past decade, about 130,000 patients in the United States have received a letter from their state health department similar to the one she once received.
"Dear sir or madam: You've been exposed to blood-borne pathogens, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B (or) HIV and you need to go to your doctor to be tested."
After a difficult 10 years, McKnight's own health has improved and she feels strong.
But she shared the stories of many other victims of outbreaks who have not been so lucky. Of the 99 infected at the Fremont clinic, six have died, she said.
Many infected in other states are struggling with their health and often their finances.
Parents are tortured by their decision to take their children to the doctor, only to see them infected with a potentially deadly disease.
A man in Oklahoma who experienced severe liver damage as the result of an outbreak doesn't return McKnight's emails anymore.
She wonders what happened to him.
"There are disastrous consequences to re-using a syringe," she said. "These consequences are financial, medical, social and emotional."
Contact the writer:
202-630-4823, joe.morton@owh.com
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