Clinic exposed 95 to hepatitis
By Cai Wenjun |
February 6, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A DOCTOR has been detained after 95 people were believed to have been infected with hepatitis C at a clinic in northeast China's Liaoning Province, local health authorities said yesterday.
The doctor, surnamed Xue, working as a surgeon at the clinic in the city of Donggang, was taken into custody by police on Saturday and is being investigated, according to the city's health bureau.
A total of 120 patients who had received injections at the privately run clinic for varicose vein treatment were located and screened for hepatitis C, municipal health authorities said.
The hepatitis virus can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Hepatitis C can be treated, though not always successfully, experts say.
As many as 95 believed to have been infected with the disease were hospitalized for treatment.
The clinic has been ordered to close.
Local authorities began investigating after receiving information on January 28.
Hepatitis C is spread through blood, unprotected sex and from mother to infant. Dr Zhang Qiang, a vascular specialist at Shanghai WorldPath Clinic International, a Sino-US joint venture hospital, said he was shocked to learn about the mass infection of hepatitis C.
He said varicose veins of the legs affect about 5 percent of the urban population.
"Thus clinics treating varicose veins flourish," he said. "Improper disinfection of medical equipment can cause the spread of hepatitis C."
The doctor, surnamed Xue, working as a surgeon at the clinic in the city of Donggang, was taken into custody by police on Saturday and is being investigated, according to the city's health bureau.
A total of 120 patients who had received injections at the privately run clinic for varicose vein treatment were located and screened for hepatitis C, municipal health authorities said.
The hepatitis virus can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Hepatitis C can be treated, though not always successfully, experts say.
As many as 95 believed to have been infected with the disease were hospitalized for treatment.
The clinic has been ordered to close.
Local authorities began investigating after receiving information on January 28.
Hepatitis C is spread through blood, unprotected sex and from mother to infant. Dr Zhang Qiang, a vascular specialist at Shanghai WorldPath Clinic International, a Sino-US joint venture hospital, said he was shocked to learn about the mass infection of hepatitis C.
He said varicose veins of the legs affect about 5 percent of the urban population.
"Thus clinics treating varicose veins flourish," he said. "Improper disinfection of medical equipment can cause the spread of hepatitis C."
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