Okla. officials link case of hepatitis C to oral surgeon

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) and Tulsa Health Department have officially connected one case of hepatitis C to the office of oral surgeon W. Scott Harrington, DMD.

Dr. Harrington is accused of exposing thousands of patients to blood-borne viruses at his practices in Tulsa and Owasso. The Oklahoma Board of Dentistry launched an investigation into Dr. Harrington in March after being notified that health officials were looking into a complaint about potential hepatitis C contamination at his practice. Investigators found numerous violations of health and safety laws, including the use of rusty instruments on patients known to have infectious diseases.

The findings in the state health department's interim status report included one instance of patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C that took place in his practice, according to a report by Fox 23 News. The conclusion was based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention genetic-based testing.

It is the first such event to take place in the U.S., said Oklahoma state epidemiologist Kristy Bradley, DVM, MPH.

The Oklahoma Public Health Laboratory tested 4,202 people in their investigation and found that 89, five, and four were positive for hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV, respectively. A number of other individuals were tested in a private setting.

In the meantime, Dr. Harrington will defend his right to practice in the state when he goes before the dental board in January 2014, according to an article by News On 6 in Oklahoma. The dental board is moving to take away Dr. Harrington's license, which he had voluntarily surrendered in March.

Dr. Harrington's attorney, James Secrest II, has filed a motion requesting the removal of the prosecutor. Susan Rogers is a lead investigator and prosecutor, but is a witness as well, and said in the article that she does not intend to continue her work as a prosecutor on the case.

Secrest had previously filed a motion to recuse Rogers and stated that she had formed her own conclusions about the investigation before launching it. He also took issue with her speaking to the media and said that she revealed details about the case. Rogers denied the latter accusation.

The public health cost of the investigation has topped $710,000 and has included federal, state, and local resources, the article explained. The Oklahoma and Tulsa health departments intend to recover their expenditures for screening and laboratory testing.