The number of hepatitis C cases potentially associated with jailed suspect Kristen Diane Parker continues to rise, with the state health department now reporting 21 preliminary matches.
Parker, who has hepatitis C, pleaded not guilty this week to federal drug charges. She is accused of stealing the sedative fentanyl from surgery carts at hospitals where she was working as a scrub technician, injecting herself with the drug and refilling the used syringes with saline. Those dirty needles were apparently used on surgical patients at Rose Medical Center and Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs.
Rose and Audubon are testing thousands of patients who had surgery during and around Parker’s shifts. The state report, updated weekly, shows 20 Rose patients with at least preliminary matches to Parker’s hepatitis C.
Audubon has said another case attributed to her by the state will eventually prove unrelated to Parker once deeper genetic testing is complete.
The state had reported 18 cases a week ago.
