Recently, the Royal Adelaide Hospital found that an employee was positive for Hepatitis C. This raised concern, because as many as 30 patients could have been exposed to the virus. These patients have been offered precautionary screening tests for Hepatitis C, as well as counseling, if needed.
An investigation was began immediately to determine which patients could have been at risk for Hepatitis C. They determined that, by national and international guidelines, 30 patients were at risk of transmission.
Hepatitis C is spread by blood-to-blood contact. Newly infected people do not usually have any symptoms but some will eventually develop liver cirrhosis.
Hepatitis C affects around one per cent of South Australians, with around 16,000 cases recorded in SA since 1995.
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