Evelyn McKnight Contracted Hepatitis C from an Oncology Clinic

Your Name: Evelyn McKnight

Patient’s Name/Relationship: Self

City/State: Fremont, NE

When did event occur (what year)? 2002

Where did event occur? Other Location

What type of medical harm did you experience or witness? Healthcare-Acquired Infection

Please describe what happened. In 2000 I underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer. In 2002 I had a recurrence. It was at that time that I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. I had no risk factors, no explanation for how I had contracted this mysterious disease. After some detective work, my husband – a family physician – suspected that the oncology clinic was the cause. The state of Nebraska and the CDC did a thorough investigation and found that 99 of us contracted Hepatitis C because the oncology nurses reused syringes to access saline draws for port flushes. Of the 99 victims, there was one liver transplant and 6 deaths due to Hepatitis C, not due to cancer.

What was the outcome of the medical harm issue? Serious or life-threatening injury