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Donau-Ries Clinic in Donauwörth
Photo:
Stefan Puchner / dpa
More than two years after the hepatitis scandal at the hospital in the Swabian town of Donauwörth became known, the public prosecutor has brought charges against an anesthetist.
The 58-year-old doctor is said to have infected 51 patients with hepatitis C due to poor hygiene.
The investigators accuse the man of dangerous bodily harm, misappropriation of drugs and violations of the Medical Devices Act.
Now the regional court of Augsburg has to decide on the admission of the indictment, so the public prosecutor's office.
Tested more than 1700 patients
The case became public in autumn 2018.
The anesthetist is said to have been dependent on medication and branched off anesthetics in the clinic.
He was suspected of using the same syringes on himself and his patients.
In the past, however, his lawyers disagreed with this account: he did not use the syringes again on patients.
The man, who himself suffered from hepatitis C, is said to have infected patients who were in the hospital for operations.
The doctor's defense lawyers had stated during the further investigation that they initially did not want to comment on the allegations.
The health department had asked more than 1,700 patients of the accused doctor to be tested for hepatitis C.
Ultimately, around 60 affected people were found.
In most cases, these infections have now also been the subject of charges.
Long-term consequences are possible
The accused doctor is said to have worked at the clinic in Donauwörth for around ten years.
The indictment concerns cases from February 2017 to April 2018. At that time, according to the prosecutor, an operating room nurse observed how the doctor injected anesthetic himself intravenously.
According to Deutscher Leberhilfe, a hepatitis C infection only very rarely leads to symptoms at first, in 20 to 50 percent it heals on its own within the first six months.
However, the virus remains in the body of the remaining affected people and they develop chronic inflammation of the liver.
Without treatment, there is a risk of long-term effects such as cirrhosis or liver cancer.
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bbr / dpa