Nebraska Revokes License of Doctor in Hepatitis Outbreak [Pakistani questioned by FBI]

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The state revoked the license Wednesday of a doctor accused of causing one of the nation's largest hepatitis C outbreaks, with at least 99 patients infected and one death.

In a settlement with the state, Dr. Tahir Javed did not contest allegations that he used unsanitary practices at his Fremont Cancer Clinic, where many of his patients contracted hepatitis C in 2000 and 2001. State officials alleged those practices included reusing syringes.

At least 81 lawsuits have been filed against Javed on behalf of his former patients.

Javed is now a health minister in Pakistan. Last month, he told a Pakistani newspaper that the allegations are part of anti-Muslim propaganda since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver. It can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Interesting that the FBI questioned this guy two weeks ago. I wonder if there's more going on here than just a disgusting display of shoddy medical practice. Was this the good doctor's way of waging small-scale Jihad on Americans before heading back to his homeland?

Article from Pakistani website dated Sep 16:

Headline: FBI questions Health Minister -- Detail Story

Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed is reported to have been questioned by FBI in connection with some cases he is facing in the US, reported BBC on Monday.

The reports about the interrogation of the Minister by the FBI officials has further complicated the controversy. The Minister dismissed the reports that FBI has questioned him in connection with some cases.

When contacted, Punjab government spokesman, Director-General Public Relations Shoaib bin Aziz neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying “I have no knowledge about this.”

According to the BBC, Dr Tahir Javed was elected MPA from Narowal in the general elections and before returning to Pakistan in 2002, he was practising at a cancer clinic in Freemount in the US state of Nebraska.

He has been blamed for the spread of Hepatitis-C in the town due to his negligence. During the two years, 99 persons were diagnosed with Hepatitis-C and one of them died. It is alleged that the nurses at his clinic used infected syringes on other patients and having knowledge about this he did not stop them from doing so.

Nebraska Health and Human Services have submitted an application in a court making a plea to take action against Dr Javed and cancel his licence due to his negligence which led to spread of Hepatitis-C in the city.

The Punjab Minister has, time and again, denied this allegation. He is of the view that these are the incidents of 1999 and when he was in the US from 1979 to 2002, no case was filed against him. He said that he will use all the legal channels to defend himself.

Link

Wasn't hard to find. Dr. Javed has other odd hepatitis issues.

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2003-daily/25-06-2003/metro/l2.htm

'Hepatitis-B vaccination not necessary for all adults'

By our correspondent

LAHORE: Vaccination of all adults against Hepatitis-B is neither desirable nor affordable. Besides, the WHO does not recommend it. However, children under one year of age and the 'high risk' adults should be vaccinated against the disease.

This message came during the opening day proceedings of a two-day "Awareness Seminar on Hepatitis and Planning Meeting for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis" here on Monday. The event was organised by Punjab Health Department in collaboration with National Institute of Health and the WHO.

Provincial Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed was the chief guest while MPA Dr Muzzaffar Shaikh, NIH Executive Director Dr Athar Saeed Dil, Director General Health Dr Sabiha Khushid, WHO Epidemiologist Dr Faizullah Kakar, WHO Medical Officer Dr Ahmad Ali Darwish, Former ED NIH Mohammad Saleem, WHO Operations Officer Ismatullah Chaudhry, National EPI Manager Dr Rehan A Hafeez and eminent health experts, specialists and public health representatives were present.

The health minister stressed that the strategy of vaccinating all adults should be abandoned because it is not affordable, doable and advisable.

Dr Tahir said the legislation to regulate private hospitals and laboratories was in the offing. "This piece of legislation will be presented before the cabinet in July. After its approval, the bill would be tabled in the Provincial Assembly," he said. Referring to the hospital waste, a potential contributor towards hepatitis spread, he desired to take adequate measures at the hospital level to properly dispose of the waste.

Earlier, Dr Sabiha shared with the audience the data collected from hospitals of seven districts.
.. ...'

See also the following, which makes me even more suspicious of this guy:

Javed: Hepatitis C outbreak allegations part of U.S. effort to smear Muslims

OMAHA (AP) — A former Nebraska doctor accused of involvement in the largest hepatitis C outbreak in the United States has denied any wrongdoing.

Dr.Tahir Javed is accused of being at fault for using unsanitary practices that caused 99 people — including one who died — to contract the disease at his Fremont Cancer Clinic between March 2000 and December 2001.

Javed told the Daily Times, a Pakistani newspaper, that the allegations are part of anti-Muslim propaganda since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Javed is now Punjab Health minister in northeastern Pakistan.

"There is currently an anti-Muslim campaign in America that is also targeting educated Muslims," Javed told the newspaper in Monday editions.

The state filed a petition against Javed in July that could result in the loss of his medical license. More than 80 lawsuits have been filed against the doctor.

The state was not made aware of problems at the clinic until September 2002, two months after Javed left the country.

But area doctors had warned Javed for months prior to that that something was amiss, according to the state's petition.

Javed told the newspaper he wasn't responsible for negligence committed by nurses or other staff. He said it is ridiculous to blame him for the outbreak because terminal hepatitis C cases take more than three years to develop, the length of time he was in charge of the clinic. Hepatitis C can take more than 20 years to develop.

Javed said he remains on four prominent medical boards in New York and can still practice there. He challenged Nebraska to try to revoke his medical license in New York. He also denied allegations of sexual misconduct with a patient.

"They are below the belt," Javed told the newspaper.

James Allen Davis, a Fremont attorney who represents about 20 of the people who have filed lawsuits against Javed, said concerns were raised in 1999, more than two years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Mark Christensen, a Lincoln attorney who represents Javed in civil suits filed by his former patients, said he hadn't seen the article and couldn't comment.

Javed could be extradited to the United States if criminal charges are filed, Davis said.

The Associated Press could not immediately reach Javed for comment, and a message left at the office of his Omaha attorney, Mike Jones, was not immediately returned.

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