Health Agency Call For Sheridan Patient Testing

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Department of Health is recommending that Sheridan Memorial Hospital offer testing for three diseases to patients exposed to inadequately sterilized surgical airways between last May and November.

State Health Officer Dr. Wendy Braund made the recommendation after consulting with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health Department spokeswoman Kim Deti says the CDC recommended testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

Deti tells the Associated Press  that CDC physicians believe that while the risk that any patient contracted any of the diseases is low, "they cannot say it is nonexistent."

Sheridan Memorial Hospital CEO Mike McCafferty says the hospital will now use only disposable airways, which are inserted into a patient's throat during surgery.