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March 29, 2024

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Hepatitis scare

Dr. Dipak Desai, majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, leaves Las Vegas City Hall on March 3. Desai has surrendered his medical license pending the outcome of a state investigation.

Photo by Steve Marcus / Las Vegas Sun

Dr. Dipak Desai, majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, leaves Las Vegas City Hall on March 3. Desai has surrendered his medical license pending the outcome of a state investigation.

The largest hepatitis outbreak scare in the nation is playing out in Las Vegas, where 50,000 patients at an endoscopy center may have been exposed to infectious diseases because of unhygienic practices.

Share Your Experience

Patients and current or former employees of Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada who wish to share their experiences at the clinic are invited to e-mail Las Vegas Sun health reporter Marshall Allen.

So far, 114 patients have been identified by health authorities as having been potentially infected with hepatitis C at the clinic, which has been shut down — along with five sister clinics in the valley.

Criminal investigations are underway and the state’s medical and nursing boards are investigating the situation, which some nurses say was triggered by the clinic owner’s drive for profit at the expense of patient safety.

Frequently asked questions about the incident

Archive highlights

Voices of reason for health care crisis

Sun, Mar 16, 2008

In the midst of the largest hepatitis C scare in the nation’s history, many Nevadans have lost confidence in their health care providers. About 40,000 people have been told they ...

Assembly-line colonoscopies at clinic described

Sun, Mar 9, 2008

If you want to get a sense of the rushed medical procedures that patients encountered inside the clinic that triggered the unprecedented hepatitis scare, consider Duke Breuer’s experience. After undergoing ...

How hepatitis probe led to clinic

Sun, Mar 2, 2008

There was no cause for alarm when, on Dec. 4, health investigators learned of a case of acute hepatitis C.

All stories

Insurance company wants cap on payments in hepatitis C cases

Wed, Feb 10, 2010

An insurance company is suing to cap payments to patients who say they were exposed to hepatitis C and other diseases at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

Sedative manufacturer might share liability in hepatitis cases

Mon, Feb 1, 2010

Attorneys who represent former patients of the shuttered Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada say that a sworn deposition from a drug company executive will help them prove that his company, ...

18 cases tied to hepatitis C outbreak settled

Mon, Jan 25, 2010

Eighteen civil cases related to the hepatitis C outbreak have been settled. District court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said the settlements vary in amount but that Nevada Mutual Insurance settled with ...

Findings from hepatitis C outbreak going to district attorney

Wed, Jan 20, 2010

The findings from an investigation into the hepatitis C outbreak will likely be presented to a Clark County grand jury for possible criminal charges in coming weeks, District Attorney David ...

Proposed settlements at issue in endoscopy case

Tue, Jan 5, 2010

Attorneys in the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada bankruptcy case are battling over whether an insurance company should be allowed to settle 18 of the thousands of lawsuits filed by ...

Thoroughness, not haste, key in probe of clinic's insurance billing practices

Sat, Jan 2, 2010

For all the health concerns triggered by the hepatitis C outbreak nearly two years ago, another matter related to the medical scandal has yet to be resolved: an investigation into ...

Report shows how Dipak Desai put profits ahead of safe practices

Tue, Dec 22, 2009

The Southern Nevada Health District’s final report on the colonoscopy clinic at the center of the country’s largest hepatitis C outbreak details ways in which the greed of its owner, ...

Report on Las Vegas Hepatitis C outbreak released

Mon, Dec 21, 2009

Health officials released today a long-awaited report that details the cause of a Las Vegas colonoscopy center that caused the largest health-care facility related Hepatitis C outbreak in the history ...

Targeting insurers’ deep pockets

Fri, Dec 18, 2009

Health maintenance organizations and insurance companies must be held accountable for telling people which doctors they must use, say attorneys of those exposed to hepatitis C at Dr. Dipak Desai’s ...

Police ask DA to seek criminal neglect charges against Desai

Thu, Nov 19, 2009

Metro detectives late Tuesday handed the district attorney’s office the brunt of their criminal investigation into last year’s hepatitis C outbreak, for what is expected to be a groundbreaking prosecution.

Police probe of clinic cases in hepatitis outbreak nears end

Mon, Nov 16, 2009

At long last, Metro Police are winding down one of the Las Vegas Valley’s most complicated and anticipated criminal investigations in recent years.

Bankruptcy trustee: Leave the hepatitis claims to us

Fri, Nov 13, 2009

The massive assortment of lawsuits over last year’s hepatitis outbreak could be taking another detour.

Regulation in need of a checkup

Sun, Oct 25, 2009

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners is required by law to protect patients. But critics — doctors and lawmakers among them — say the board is hampered by conflicts ...

Judge orders release of hepatitis case records

Sat, Oct 24, 2009

The public could soon learn a lot more about how last year’s hepatitis C outbreak occurred and health authorities’ role in it. After a hearing this week, District Judge Allan ...

Hepatitis case has escalating side battle

Thu, Oct 22, 2009

In court battles over huge amounts of money, all sides go to the mat. That’s what’s taking place behind the scenes in the massive litigation over last year’s hepatitis C ...

Videos

IBTV: Jon Ralston:  Now That's Juice
IBTV: Jon Ralston: Now That's Juice
The owners of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada must forfeit their business license and ...
Face to Face: Done Deal
Face to Face: Done Deal
The City of Las Vegas hearing into the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada was a ...
Endoscopy Public Comment
Endoscopy Public Comment
The massive hepatitis C scare is a defining moment in Nevada health care, for doctors, ...
Endoscopy Patient Reacts
Endoscopy Patient Reacts
Arnold “Duke” Breuer of Las Vegas went to a Quest laboratory Monday to have a ...
Hepatitis Scare Roundtable
Hepatitis Scare Roundtable
The Sun invited four experts to sit around a table and hold a conversation about ...
A Professional Approach
A Professional Approach
Senior epidemiologist Brian Labus shares his professional approach to the largest hepatitis C scare in ...

Slideshows

Endoscopy Center hearing
At a City Hall hearing Monday, attorneys representing the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada appealed ...