A traveling hospital tech who worked in Arizona and seven other states has been sentenced to almost 40 years in prison for infecting patients with a dangerous disease.

David Kwiatkowski suffers from hepatitis C. He worked in 18 hospitals around the U.S., including in Arizona during 2009 and 2010. Earlier this year, Kwiatkowski pleaded guilty to stealing painkillers and replacing saline-filled syringes tainted by his blood.

Dozens of patients in New Hampshire, Maryland, Kansas and Pennsylvania have been diagnosed with the strain of hepatitis C Kwiatkowski carries.

Prosecutors asked for a 40 year sentence. Defense attorneys argued for 30 years, saying in part that Kwiatkowski’s judgment was clouded by his drug abuse. He was sentenced Monday to 39 years behind bars.