A Jackson County EMT is reported to be okay after a man infected with Hepatitis C spit in the medic's face Wednesday.
Jackson County authorities said a neighbor thought 23-year-old Christopher Keith Johnston of Arcade was having seizures, so he called law enforcement for help. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum confirmed that deputies arrived at the scene on Woodlands Hills Drive and called an ambulance to help Johnston, but once he was loaded into the ambulance, he became unruly.
As the EMTs tried to restrain him, Johnston spit out a mouthful of blood and saliva, hitting one of the deputies in the face.
Jackson County EMA Director Steve Nichols told the Athens Banner Herald that the EMT got some of the blood in his eyes. The newspaper said the medic got out of the ambulance and began to flush his eyes with a solution. The EMT also received exposure treatment at an Athens hospital. According to Nichols, a Hepatitis test on the EMT came back negative, but he will be re-tested in two weeks as a precaution.
Johnston was charged with reckless conduct and at last report remains in jail.
