Treating one disease caused another
Egypt’s public health service inadvertently spread hepatitis C while treating patients for schistosomiasis, a common parasitic disease, with injections of antischistomal medications.
Hepatitis C, a viral infection that can lead to liver failure, is surprisingly common in Egypt. Up to 20 percent of people there test positive for the chronic illness. Now, a study of almost 8,500 Egyptians shows that reused needles spread the disease.
Since the 1920s, health authorities employed needles in mass campaigns against schistosomiasis, a common illness caused by a blood-borne parasite. The needles were disinfected with procedures considered sufficient at that time. Like hepatitis C, schistosomiasis is a chronic disease with serious complications in some people.