State health officials have reached out to colleagues in Arkansas and MS to advise them that people may be contacting them about the testing, said Dr. Tim Jones, state epidemiologist at the Tennessee Department of Health.
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SCHD said they’ve identified more than 3,000 patients at SPT Dental at risk, but urge all patients of the clinic to get tested.
Dr. Elizabeth Morrow of the Shelby County Health Department said that the conditions at the clinic were not up to the level of even average hygiene.
Shelby County health officials have asked former patients of SPT Dental Clinic on Lamar Avenue, now a closed dental clinic, to be tested for different viruses, including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.
Officials said on July 1 that inspectors declared the clinic an “imminent health hazard”.
Unsanitary conditions included bloody gauze on the floor, the sink crusted with grime and dirt, unidentifiable substances in the sink drain, and a hand piece that goes directly into the patient’s mouth lying on an extremely dirty floor beside a cabinet.
The current investigation of Dr. Alfred Brown’s SPT Dental Clinic is complex and ongoing.
The license of Dr. Alfred Brown, a dentist at the clinic, has been suspended and he is being investigation by the state dental board.
Because the report also found SPT lacked sufficient infection control measures, health leaders now want the hundreds of former patients to get tested in the coming days for viruses like hepatitis and HIV.
The health department is contacting patients directly.
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Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Shelby County Director of Health, said, “It’s very disconcerting to me that another provider may not have used what we would view as appropriate and standard hygienic practices”. The Associated Press could not immediately reach Brown for comment. A hotline is also available from 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m. for anyone with any questions.
