Nurse may Have Infected Over 300 in Virginia With Hepatitis

Jenny Albano

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Over 300 patients from a Virginia hospital have been asked to get blood tests because an ex-nurse of the hospital is suspected of infecting patients with hepatitis when he worked in Texas.

Retired Army Capt. Jon Dale Jones, 45, was arrested this month in Miami on federal charges of assaulting three patients and possession of a controlled substance by fraud. Federal prosecutors said they believe Jones spread hepatitis in 2004 at an El Paso military hospital by diverting fentanyl -- a powerful painkiller often used for anesthesia -- from patients to himself.

So far there have been 15 military members or relatives who are believed to be infected with hepatitis. Jones worked at the Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport from July through December of 2007 and hospital officials claim that 310 patients came into contact with him when he was an employee. All these patients have been asked to come in to be tested for hepatitis C.

Officials do not know how the patients in Texas became infected and Jones is denying using dirty needles on his patients. Jones has plead not guilty and has been released on bond.

Th learn more about hepatitis and its symptoms click here.