Nearly 5,000 People May Have Been Exposed to Hepatitis C at Utah Hospital

A Utah hospital is warning 4,800 former patients that they may have been exposed to a rare type of hepatitis C virus and is urging them to get tested.

Officials from Utah Health Department said that they believe a former employee of the McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah may have exposed patients when she was working in the Emergency Department.

A spokeswoman for the health department said the employee had been diverting drugs for her use and officials believe that by using drugs she may have exposed patients to the virus. She has since been fired from the hospital, according to hospital officials.

"We want to make sure that we're being thorough in our approach," McKay-Dee Hospital spokesman Chris Dallin told ABC News. "The chance of getting hepatitis C is low." 

Health officials started an investigation after a patient had the same rare type of the hepatitis C virus as a nurse who worked in the emergency room.

Ogden police told ABC News affiliate KTVX that the nurse admitted she had used drugs.

"The suspect had come forward to her employer. The employer had brought the information to us, she was ultimately charged with several counts of possession of a controlled substance and theft," Ogden Police Lt. Danielle Croyle told KTVX-TV.

Hepatitis C is a virus usually spread from blood contact either by sharing needles, receiving donated blood or using contaminated equipment. In a hospital, the disease is a usually spread via a needle stick accident, according to a health department spokeswoman.

The Utah Health Department said only patients who visited the emergency department at McKay Dee Hospital between June 17, 2013 and November 25, 2014, and received certain medications, should consider getting tested.