Tracing the path of infection It will be hard to prove that improperly sterilized ins

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As thousands of Dr. Christiane Farazli’s former patients are notified about whether they have been infected with HIV or hepatitis, an uneasy question has emerged: If even one person tests positive for any or all of the viruses, how can the infections be traced back to improperly sterilized instruments at Farazli’s west-Ottawa endoscopy clinic? The issue highlights scientific and legal complications that are reminiscent of Canada’s tainted blood scandal of the 1980s and 1990s, during which 1,400 Canadians were infected with HIV and another 12,000 contracted hepatitis C. Most patients were not notified of the infection risks until years after they had received tainted blood products. That made it extremely difficult for many of them to prove that any disease they developed was a result of contaminated blood.

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