Outbreak of hepatitis C virus infections originating from safe injection practices breach before contrast-enhanced computed tomography scanning.

Abstract Four patients undergoing contrast-enhanced CT scanning have been infected with hepatitis C virus from a contaminated multi-dose NaCl vial. The outbreak occurred probably due to safe injection practices breach resulting in the contamination of a multi-dose NaCl vial. Not all patients exposed to the same multi-dose NaCl have been infected. The uneven distribution of infections could possibly be attributed to a stochastic effect of a low infectious dose. This implies that outbreak investigations need to be extended to all patients scheduled before and after the first identified infected patient to definitely confirm or rule out a nosocomial transmission.