Regulators suspend NJ doc’s license

LOS ANGELES - A New Jersey doctor whom health officials suspect was the source of a hepatitis B outbreak had his medical license suspended indefinitely on Wednesday by state regulators.

Nearly 3,000 of Dr. Parvez Dara’s patients have been warned to get tested after five cancer patients tested positive for the disease, which is transmitted through exposure to infected blood and can cause serious liver damage.

The state is still investigating the outbreak.

Members of the state Board of Medical Examiners decided Friday to temporarily suspend the Ocean County oncologist’s license on an emergency basis. On Wednesday, the full board voted to continue the suspension.

Dara’s attorney, Robert Conroy, said there is no direct evidence that the hepatitis cases are linked to him. He asked the board Wednesday to reinstate the doctor’s license or at least allow him to perform consultations and exams, which the board declined to do.

Conroy said Dara would immediately appeal the decision. Dara, who attended the hearing, declined to comment.

The state moved to suspend Dara’s license after health officials discovered that five people recently diagnosed with the disease in Ocean County share the same doctor.