Las Vegas Sun

October 13, 2008

Topic:

Hepatitis scare

Dr. Dipak Desai, majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, leaves Las Vegas City Hall on March 3. Desai has surrendered his medical license pending the outcome of a state investigation.

Photo by Steve Marcus / Las Vegas Sun

Dr. Dipak Desai, majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, leaves Las Vegas City Hall on March 3. Desai has surrendered his medical license pending the outcome of a state investigation.

The largest hepatitis outbreak scare in the nation is playing out in Las Vegas, where 50,000 patients at an endoscopy center may have been exposed to infectious diseases because of unhygienic practices.

Share Your Experience

Patients and current or former employees of Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada who wish to share their experiences at the clinic are invited to e-mail Las Vegas Sun health reporter Marshall Allen.

Seventy-seven patients have so far been identified by health authorities as having been potentially infected with hepatitis C at the clinic, which has been shut down — along with five sister clinics in the valley.

Criminal investigations are underway and the state’s medical and nursing boards are investigating the situation, which some nurses say was triggered by the clinic owner’s drive for profit at the expense of patient safety.

Frequently asked questions about the incident

Archive highlights

Voices of reason for health care crisis

Sun, Mar 16, 2008

In the midst of the largest hepatitis C scare in the nation’s history, many Nevadans have lost confidence in their health care providers. About 40,000 people have been told they ...

Assembly-line colonoscopies at clinic described

Sun, Mar 9, 2008

If you want to get a sense of the rushed medical procedures that patients encountered inside the clinic that triggered the unprecedented hepatitis scare, consider Duke Breuer’s experience. After undergoing ...

How hepatitis probe led to clinic

Sun, Mar 2, 2008

There was no cause for alarm when, on Dec. 4, health investigators learned of a case of acute hepatitis C.

All stories

Hospital must improve infection control

Wed, Oct 1, 2008

With the largest hepatitis C outbreak in the country still fresh in Southern Nevada’s consciousness, hospitals should be taking exceptional precautions to protect patients from infections. One Las Vegas hospital ...

Moving board out in open, past storm

Sat, Aug 23, 2008

Louis Ling is about to sit on the hot seat as the new executive director of the Nevada State Medical Examiners Board.

How we come to accept wrong as the new right

Thu, Aug 14, 2008

Health care in Nevada seems to suffer from a normalization of deviance. In two recent high-profile cases — the hepatitis C crisis and the abuse of foreign doctors — professionals ...

Desai staffer stonewalls plaintiffs’ attorneys

Thu, Aug 7, 2008

The massive civil litigation over the hepatitis outbreak linked to the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada is heating up.

State moves to tighten hepatitis C laws

Tue, Jul 29, 2008

Learning a lesson from the hepatitis C outbreak inquiry in Las Vegas, the state wants more authority to conduct investigations, including taking control of the medical records of a center.

Overhaul of licensing agencies urged

Tue, Jul 29, 2008

Triggered by perceived failures on the part of the Medical Examiners Board during the hepatitis C investigation, Nevada’s largest physician association is proposing an overhaul of every licensing agency in ...

Two source cases identified in hepatitis outbreak

Thu, Jul 24, 2008

The Southern Nevada Health District has identified two source cases in the hepatitis C outbreak at a local endoscopy center, along with a ninth case of the disease.

Two source cases identified in hepatitis

Thu, Jul 24, 2008

The Southern Nevada Health District has identified two source cases in the hepatitis C outbreak at a local endoscopy center, along with a ninth case of the disease.

Desai, colleagues may take the Fifth, stalling lawsuits for years

Wed, May 14, 2008

As if the massive case weren’t complex enough, the first lawsuits over the hepatitis outbreak that health officials linked to the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada are facing another major ...

Letter to his boss faults Clark

Wed, May 14, 2008

Two state legislators say the executive director of the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners has ignored the public interest by delaying the investigation of doctors who may have caused ...

Clinic patients’ choice: Recourse or privacy

Sat, May 10, 2008

Hundreds of plaintiffs suing over Southern Nevada’s hepatitis C scare could wind up victims of the court system, as the massive litigation embarks on a course destined to pry into ...

Board chief fires back, backs off

Thu, May 8, 2008

The executive director of the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners unleashed a tirade against a county prosecutor before saying the board would turn over to investigators any complaints in ...

Medical board refuses to release Desai complaints

Wed, May 7, 2008

The criminal investigation into the conduct of Dr. Dipak Desai, the physician at the center of the nation’s biggest hepatitis C scare, has hit a roadblock: the Nevada State Board ...

Desai tried but failed in car transaction

Thu, May 1, 2008

Dr. Dipak Desai’s recent attempt to ship his two Mercedes-Benz cars to Dubai was not successful because a Las Vegas Mercedes-Benz dealership refused to sign off on the arrangement.

Desai tried shipping vehicles overseas. Would he have followed?

Wed, Apr 30, 2008

Dr. Dipak Desai, under investigation for his role in the nation’s biggest hepatitis C scare, tried shipping two personal luxury vehicles to Dubai.

Videos

IBTV: Jon Ralston:  Now That's Juice
IBTV: Jon Ralston: Now That's Juice
The owners of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada must forfeit their business license and ...
Face to Face: Done Deal
Face to Face: Done Deal
The City of Las Vegas hearing into the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada was a ...
Endoscopy Public Comment
Endoscopy Public Comment
The massive hepatitis C scare is a defining moment in Nevada health care, for doctors, ...
Endoscopy Patient Reacts
Endoscopy Patient Reacts
Arnold “Duke” Breuer of Las Vegas went to a Quest laboratory Monday to have a ...
Hepatitis Scare Roundtable
Hepatitis Scare Roundtable
The Sun invited four experts to sit around a table and hold a conversation about ...
A Professional Approach
A Professional Approach
Senior epidemiologist Brian Labus shares his professional approach to the largest hepatitis C scare in ...

Slideshows

Endoscopy Center hearing
At a City Hall hearing Monday, attorneys representing the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada appealed ...
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