Colorado: Hepatitis C Falls Under U.S. Disability Law

In the wake of the developing case of a Colorado surgical technician charged with stealing drugs in a scheme that potentially exposed thousands of patients to hepatitis C, some observers are asking why anyone with the virus was allowed to work in a hospital operating room. The technician's employer, Denver's Rose Medical Center, was aware she had hepatitis C.

In fact, however, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act was crafted in part to protect the rights of such employees. Health officials said the technician's hepatitis C infection should not have affected her ability to perform her job duties.

"We don't recommend any kind of categorical restriction just because of hepatitis C," said Arjun Srinivasan, a medical epidemiologist with CDC. "What we have seen is that good infection-control practices are effective in preventing transmission of hepatitis C and scores of other diseases to patients."

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