Up to 4,800 patients potentiall exposed to hepatitis C at Ogden hospital

OGDEN — Up to 4,800 people may have been exposed to hepatitis C by a now-fired nurse at McKay-Dee Hospital between June 2013 and November 2014, according to the Standard Examiner.

Per information released by the hospital Friday, 49-year-old nurse Elet Neilson (also known as Elet Hamblin), of Layton, was released in November 2014 after her admission of diverting emergency department drugs intended for patients, the Examiner reports. Neilson and a patient treated in the emergency department were both infected with the same hepatitis genotype, the Utah Department of Health reported, and the infections could be connected.

Due to concerns of exposure to the virus, letters to 4,800 people who may have been in contact with either individual were sent out Friday, the Examiner reports. It was unclear who infected whom or the method by which the infection took place, a hospital spokesman said, and officials are unsure if the disease has spread further.

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