Hepatitis C Outbreak Hits Anhui, Henan

At least 117 people have contracted Hepatitis C in Anhui and Henan Provinces in recent weeks, health officials announced November 28, saying they suspected unsanitary needles at a private clinic. 

Anhui health department officials on November 28 said they had traced the outbreak to a private clinic in Maqiao county in the neighboring Henan Province, after discovering that 13 Anhui residents who had all tested positive for Hepatitis C in recent weeks had all gone to the same clinic . None of them had undergone operations, received blood transfusions, donated blood, or come into contact with Hepatitis C carriers recently, the officials said, leading them to suspect contaminated needles as the culprit.