In early February 2008, the Southern Nevada Health District sent out notices to tens of thousands of Las Vegans — 63,000 is the most commonly reported number, though there are others — urging them to get tested for blood-borne diseases, particularly hepatitis C. And so became public one of the state’s worst medical scandals.
The letter’s recipients were all patients of local endoscopy clinics run by a Dr. Depak Desai. As officials learned in 2007, some of the clinics’ personnel — whose business model was built on volume and corner-cutting — were reusing syringes and vials of anesthetics during outpatient procedures. Ultimately, researchers definitely tied nine hep C cases to the clinic, with another 105 or more likely to have stemmed from the clinics. NBC News called it “one of the largest U.S. outbreaks of the disease tied to a physician.”
The reuse appeared to be part of a larger atmosphere of shoddy, quick-and-dirty practice; one nurse said she quit the clinic after just three days because she was asked to falsify documents and carry out other unethical practices.
In 2013, Desai was convicted of second-degree murder for a hepatitis death, as well as a raft of other charges, including reckless disregard, neglect, and insurance fraud. The case also spawned dozens of lawsuits against insurance providers and healthcare companies. He suffered several strokes after the scandal broke, and died in prison in 2017.
Three months later, the murder charge was overturned, but the others remained.
