|
October 12, 2001
Hepatitis C scare erupts in Ashland
By the Associated Press
Teacher charged with
exposing students to virus while drawing blood
BILLINGS - A substitute teacher at a public school in southeastern Montana
was charged Wednesday with exposing five second-graders to the hepatitis C
virus during a demonstration of drawing blood.
The felony charges allege Charles Halvorson, 55, a substitute teacher at
the 70-student public school in Ashland, pricked the fingers of students with
the same needle he used to puncture his own finger only moments earlier.
According to court documents, Halvorson told people that he knew he was
infected with the liver disease, knew it was contagious, knew it was spread
by contact with blood and knew the virus could cause serious health problems,
including death.
Halvorson declined to comment Wednesday night when reached by the Billings
Gazette at his Ashland residence. Ashland is on the eastern boundary of the
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
Rosebud County Attorney Michael Hayworth filed the criminal charges
Wednesday afternoon and asked for a warrant for Halvorson's arrest. He faces
five counts of felony criminal endangerment or five counts of misdemeanor
negligent endangerment.
Halvorson was not immediately arrested and isn't considered a flight risk,
the prosecutor said.
"These are very serious charges because they are very serious actions
that could have serious consequences for these children," Hayworth said.
Since Oct. 2 when the needle sticking occurred, an emergency school board
meeting has been held, public health officials have been brought in and
counseling has been offered, said Ashland Public School Principal Pennie
Rhoads.
"I've worked on nothing else, trying to help these families get all
the information possible on the disease," she said. "This has been
a tragedy, an unforeseen tragedy, an unbelievable tragedy."
The chances of infection of hepatitis C from needle sticks are slim, said
Jim Murphy, health specialist with the Department of Public Health and Human
Services in Helena.
"It would be really unlikely in the scenarios described for
transmissions to occur," Murphy told the Gazette in an interview.
"We would estimate they are probably under 1 percent."
The needle sticking occurred shortly after a school assembly about illegal
drug and alcohol use, according to court documents. Halvorson, a veteran
substitute teacher for the Ashland School, continued the discussion in the
classroom. He told the second-graders he has diabetes and explained how he
regulates his blood sugar through blood testing and insulin injections.
Court documents describe a scenario in which Halvorson then began
demonstrating his blood testing equipment in front of the children by drawing
blood from his finger with a small needle.
"(Halvorson) then pricked fingers of all five children with the same
lancet he had used on himself, extracting blood from each, without changing
or cleaning the lancet before or during the pricking of the respective
children's fingers," the court documents state.
The school principal said all of approximately 70 students have been
tested for the virus and follow-up tests have been ordered for the five
exposed students. Counseling services were offered to students and family
members, Rhoads said.
There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, but new drug therapies can get rid of
the virus in four out of 10 people, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Otherwise, about 70 percent of those
infected with the hepatitis C virus develop chronic liver disease.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING
THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR
INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR
NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU,
AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
|
