The accused anesthetist, who was infected with hepatitis C, is said to have infected 51 surgical patients in a clinic.
After the scandal surrounding hepatitis C infections in numerous patients at a clinic in Donauwörth in northern Swabia, the public prosecutor’s office has demanded three years in prison for an anesthetist. According to the public prosecutor, the doctor infected 51 surgical patients at the hospital due to poor hygiene. The prosecutor sees this as dangerous bodily harm. The defense attorney should also make his plea before the Augsburg district court on Thursday afternoon, and the verdict is expected at the end of June.
In 2017 and 2018 there was an accumulation of hepatitis C cases in patients. More than 1700 women and men should be tested. Ultimately, it turned out that the anesthesiologist, who was himself infected with hepatitis C, infected his patients during operations. He was drug addicted and had regularly siphoned off anesthetics for himself. He is said to have contaminated the opiates intended for the patients.
At the beginning of the process, the 61-year-old doctor admitted the transmission of his infection to the patients. However, the man himself did not know at the time that he had hepatitis C (Az. 200 Js 137689/18).
Hepatitis C is a disease that often goes undetected, but can also have serious long-term consequences. According to the German Liver Aid, the infection heals on its own in 20 to 50 percent of cases within six months. In the other cases, the liver inflammation becomes chronic and remains in the body. After 20 to 30 years, some people could develop cirrhosis and liver cancer. “However, thanks to new drugs, hepatitis C can almost always be cured today,” emphasizes the self-help association.