Tests urged for 3,000 patients

TRENTON - Health officials yesterday advised nearly 3,000 people who have used an Ocean County doctor to be tested for hepatitis and HIV after five cancer patients who use the physician were found to have hepatitis B.

Ocean County health officials said that it was confirmed in late February that two cases of hepatitis B were connected with the office of Parvez Dara, an oncologist who practices in Toms River and Manchester.

State officials recently learned of three more cases in Toms River. "These were older adults who didn't have other risk factors, so that is what raised a red flag," Marilyn Riley, spokeswoman for the state Health Department, said yesterday.

Health officials decided to send a letter to all Dara's patients dating back to 2002. The March 28 letter warns them of the risk and suggests they be tested for the liver diseases hepatitis B and C as well as for the virus that causes AIDS.

Hepatitis B is transmitted through exposure to infected blood, often by sexual contact or infected needles. Dara's office treats patients with blood disorders and cancer, some of whom receive chemotherapy there.

"The evidence that's available suggests the infections could be linked to the method the clinical staff used to administer injectable medications," such as chemotherapy, Riley said. "There's no evidence to suggest the medications were a problem."

Dara faces suspension of his medical license in connection with the outbreak and other alleged health code violations. A hearing is set for today before the state Board of Medical Examiners. Since being notified, Dara has performed only patient consultations, said his lawyer, Robert Conroy.

According to a report by the state epidemiology division, Dara has infection-control violations dating to 2002, including violations of standards of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Conroy said that there was no proof the patients got the disease from Dara's office and that other factors were not being considered. All five patients were also seen at Community Medical Center in Toms River, he said. Health officials said they had ruled out the hospital as a possible source of the infection.

Conroy said three patients were found to have dormant hepatitis infections that might have been noticed only after they started cancer treatments, which can suppress the body's immune system.

Because the patients live in the same area, he said, there could be another possible source.

"Absent any evidence, it is just as likely that those patients were infected [at] . . . a common eatery," he wrote in a letter to the Medical Examiners Board.