Residents of New Jersey may be surprised to know that a recent incident at a Cape Cod hospital may have caused the introduction of a dangerous brain disease into five patients. It is reported that surgical utensils that were potentially contaminated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were used on patents at the hospital during a variety of surgical procedures. These utensils were used at another hospital in New Hampshire on a man who had the disease.
It is known that normal sterilization procedures do not remove the proteins, or prions, associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The patient with the disease, who is now deceased, was operated on with the same utensils that were used on the patients at the Cape Cod hospital. Eight people are being monitored for the disease. A doctor associated with the New Hampshire hospital stated the risk for infection of the disease is very low.
According to the report, there is no risk of infection to the staff of the hospital. It is also added that, because the patients underwent spinal cord surgery and not brain surgery, their risk for infection is lessened. Most medical instruments used to investigate the disease are sterilized by heat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and infections linked to contaminated metal utensils containing the disease have not been seen since 1976.
When it comes to medical malpractice claims, whether it is in New Jersey or any other area of the world, it is always wise to seek legal advice in case of an unfortunate incident. Patients, as well as their families, can often seek compensation for medical injuries, as well as mental and emotional stress, that they have suffered during and after the process.