The federal government won't be helping to fund an investigation into the Las Vegas hepatitis scare. Twenty-six million dollars earmarked for investigation costs and outbreak prevention strategies was left out of an emergency war funding bill approved by Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the money for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have gone for studying genetic mapping of hepatitis cases in Southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Health District has redirected funds from grants and other sources toward the investigation, and Reid says he has earmarked funding in a separate federal bill that could be approved later this year. At least cases of acute hepatitis C have been linked to alleged unsafe practices at the now-closed "Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada," and another 50,000 patients at the clinic were put at risk.
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