Probe into Hepatitis B infections at hospitals

An investigation has been launched to establish how up to 1,000 patients attending two regional hospitals in the south contracted Hepatitis B.

The HSE tonight revealed the patients were being treated at Waterford Regional Hospital and Wexford General Hospital over a 13-month period when they caught the serious virus.

The patients, who are aware of their diagnosis, attended the hospitals between January 2005 and February 2006.

The discovery was made by the Microbiology Department in WRH and the Public Health Department as part of the normal surveillance of infectious

The cases are currently being reviewed by an expert group, established by the executive to advise the South East Hospital Network Incident Team.

“It has recommended that a look-back be carried out to establish if any other inpatient that had a procedure and was in the vicinity of a hepatitis B patient could have been at risk of infection,” said a spokeswoman for Health Service Executive South.

“The team is currently finalising arrangements for the look-back to take place early next week. Each patient who was at risk of contact will be individually contacted. They will be asked to attend their GP for a blood test.”

An exact figure for those suffering from the illness, which affects the liver, has not yet been released.

Transmission of hepatitis B mainly occurs when there is contact between infectious secretions (mainly blood) and cut skin. The virus can live up to seven days on work surfaces, even in dried, tiny drops, invisible to the human eye. The time from contact to illness (incubation period), for those who become symptomatic, is approximately six weeks to six months, most commonly two to four months.

The vast majority of adults recover fully from acute hepatitis B, normally within six months, and remain immune for life from another hepatitis B infection. Some people may be ill for days or weeks and then recover. Others may recover without realising that they have been infected, a small percentage of infected people may develop a more serious illness.

The look-back will not affect staff working in the hospitals as they have not undergone procedures

The spokeswoman added that for the past 10 years all frontline hospital staff have been offered vaccination against hepatitis B through the Occupational Health Department.