The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is currently using an insurance investigator to look into an October bacterial outbreak of Shigella sonnei which affected seven people.
Though five of the seven infections linked to the outbreak were accounted for by a processing error, the origin of the other two infections of Shigella sonnei -- a highly infectious form of bacteria -- was not determined by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.
It is the unanswered questions surrounding these two infections that has prompted members of the public to request an investigation by the State Attorney General's office.
Assistant Attorney General Janet Rundels will neither confirm nor deny the possibility of an investigation by her office, but did say there have been inquiries into the case.
"We are reviewing the information we have been able to obtain to determine whether or not an investigation is warranted," Rundels said.
The spread of Shigella sonnei -- which can only be transmitted through oral ingestion -- stemmed from a culture used as a teaching tool in the microbiology lab.
Following the outbreak, DHMC chose to investigate the infections with their own insurance company, rather than an outside law enforcement agency.
The American International Group, the DHMC insurer, has not yet concluded its investigation.
William Geraghty, director of Human Resources at the medical center, said they are working with the state epidemiologist on the case.
"There's been no decision made on what next step should be taken. We've been discussing options," he said.
Lebanon police chief Edward Laurie has said his department and the Attorney General's office have discussed and resolved issues on jurisdiction pertaining to this case.
"We decided yes, it should be looked into, and the lead agency for the investigation should be the State Attorney General's office," he said.
Although the DHMC made no comment about a State investigation, Rundels confirmed that the State Attorney General's office would not discuss the possibility of a joint investigation with the DHMC.
A Shigella sonnei infection is extremely serious both because of its harmful effects and the ease with which it is transmitted from one person to another.
"You can actually acquire an infection with as few as 10 or 20 of the bacteria, while most infections require thousands of bacteria," said George Packard of the DHMC public affairs office.
According to Geraghty, the possibility of a Shigella infection is always a danger in a microbiology laboratory and outbreaks happen with "some regularity."