Outbreak suspect has ties to Michigan

David Kwiatkowski.

CONCORD, N.H. -- A traveling hospital technician accused of causing a hepatitis C outbreak in New Hampshire had worked in Maryland and Michigan health-care facilities, officials said Friday.

A spokesman for Johns Hopkins Hospital said David Kwiatkowski worked in the cardiac catheterization lab at the Baltimore hospital from July, 2009, to January, 2010.

Spokesman Gary Stephenson said the hospital is contacting all patients who may have come in contact with Mr. Kwiatkowski to offer them free testing for hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral infection that can cause liver disease and chronic health issues.

Michigan's Department of Community Health confirmed that Mr. Kwiatkowski had worked there, though officials were still figuring out locations.

Mr. Kwiatkowski, who grew up in Michigan, worked as a "traveler" sent by staffing agencies to hospitals around the country, usually for temporary jobs. In announcing federal drug charges Thursday, U.S. Attorney John Kacavas called him a "serial infector" who has worked in at least six states since 2007.

Authorities have not publicly identified the others.