HEALTH chiefs have been forced to contact 100 patients after they may have been exposed a potentially fatal liver infection. An investigation at the Royal Free Hospital in Pond Street, Hampstead, has been launched after the discovery that a patient may h

HEALTH chiefs have been forced to contact 100 patients after they may have been exposed a potentially fatal liver infection.

An investigation at the Royal Free Hospital in Pond Street, Hampstead, has been launched after the discovery that a patient may have caught hepatitis C during a stay in one of its wards.

The virus, which causes inflammation to the liver and can have fatal consequences, could have been caught by anyone in contact with the affected patient.

Though checks on staff who cared for the patient are negative, anyone who stayed in the same ward as the patient could be at risk.

Hepatitis C often carries no symptoms.

Patients who stayed in the same ward as the patient during the eight weeks in late 2007 and early 2008 are being contacted as a precautionary measure.

Those who concerned can find more information at the NHS Choices website by visiting www.nhs.uk