LARGEST HEPATITIS OUTBREAK IN LAS VEGAS

The largest hepatitis outbreak scare in the nation is playing out in Las Vegas, where 50,000 patients at an endoscopy center may have been exposed to infectious diseases because of unhygienic practices.

Seventy-seven patients have so far been identified by health authorities as having been potentially infected with hepatitis C at the clinic, which has been shut down — along with five sister clinics in the valley.

Criminal investigations are underway and the state’s medical and nursing boards are investigating the situation, which some nurses say was triggered by the clinic owner’s drive for profit at the expense of patient safety.