The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department recommends former patients of a Santa Barbara (Calif.) physician get tested for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV after a department investigation and inspections revealed "multiple infection control breaches" by the clinic leading to the closure of the medical office.
Here are four things to know about the department's investigation findings:
1. Out of 240 total tests, one patient tested positive for Hepatitis B, determined to be a pre-existing infection.
2. Six patients tested positive or are currently infected with Hepatitis C.
3. Of those six, five are believed to a new, or acute, diagnosis of Hepatitis C. One is believed to be a prior, or chronic, Hepatitis C infection.
4. Four patients who tested positive for Hepatitis C had injection procedures performed by the physician under investigation on the same day.
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