Health officials confirmed four more cases of hepatitis C at Puyallup, Wash.-based Good Samaritan Hospital, bringing the total to 12, The News Tribune reports. The source of the outbreak is unknown.
The 12 cases are each genetically linked to the same virus strain. Since local and state officials began investigating the hospital's hepatitis C cases nearly three months ago, 1,858 patients of an estimated 2,758 have been tested for hepatitis C. Most results were negative.
The 12 patients linked to the same virus strain received treatment at Good Samaritan between Aug. 4, 2017, and March 23, 2018. Eleven of them were treated last December in the hospital's emergency department.
All the patients received intravenous injections from former hospital nurse Cora Weberg. Police arrested Ms. Weberg in early May on suspicion of second-degree assault, but she was later released without criminal charges being filed.
Although Ms. Weberg acknowledged diverting injectable drugs to aid in a suicide attempt, she denied injecting patients with needles she had used. Ms. Weberg's nursing license was suspended after an investigation. An attorney representing Ms. Weberg said her blood test concluded "undetective for hepatitis C virus. That means should does not have hep C."
The investigation of Ms. Weberg did not complete the inquiry of hospital, and Health Department experts tested two other Good Samaritan employees, but only Ms. Weberg showed signs of prior exposure to the virus.
In June, experts from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said the source of the outbreak remained unclear. "I'm not sure we'll ever know," said communicable disease division director Nigel Turner.