CHANGWON — Fourteen people, including patients and a staff member, have been infected with hepatitis C at a hemodialysis unit of a medical institution in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and the provincial government have launched an in-depth epidemiological investigation to determine how the infections spread.
The KDCA and South Gyeongsang Province said on the 21st that a cluster of hepatitis C infections had been confirmed at the hemodialysis unit, and that they were investigating the transmission route and taking steps to prevent further infections.
The province and the local public health center first received reports of two hepatitis C patients at the institution on Sept. 14. While tracing the infection route of a patient reported by a different medical institution, officials found that the patient had used the same hemodialysis unit. Suspecting a link between the cases, they began an epidemiological investigation of the institution on the 6th.
Comprehensive testing of all 75 patients and staff who had used the dialysis unit since June found 14 infections to date — 13 patients and one employee of the institution. Most of those infected have no symptoms, and no cases of severe complications have been identified so far.
Health authorities are conducting an in-depth epidemiological investigation to pinpoint the transmission route. They are carrying out genetic analysis on samples taken from the dialysis unit environment and from those confirmed to be infected, and are reviewing each patient's dialysis records, the movements of medical staff, drug usage records and closed-circuit television footage to determine whether any infection risk factors arose during medical procedures.
Patients confirmed to be infected have been referred to medical institutions in the province for examination and treatment. Authorities have asked the institution to check patients' health daily and to fully brief patients and their families on the situation.
Measures to prevent further infections are also under way. Authorities inspected the dialysis unit's compliance with infection control rules and provided infection control training to about 50 dialysis unit and nursing department staff on the 14th and the 20th. The KDCA and the province have held three response meetings since the 8th with related agencies and specialists in infectious diseases, gastroenterology and nephrology to discuss managing those exposed, identifying the transmission route and taking additional steps.
Hepatitis C is a viral infection transmitted through the blood of an infected person. It does not spread through everyday contact such as sharing meals or shaking hands. Infections often produce no symptoms in the early stages, but without proper treatment they can progress to chronic hepatitis or lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Oral antiviral treatment is now available, however, and early detection can bring a cure rate of about 98% with eight to 12 weeks of treatment.
The KDCA and the province urged hemodialysis providers across the province to strictly observe infection control rules, including hand hygiene, glove use, management of medical devices for individual patients, separation of drug preparation areas, and cleaning and disinfection of dialysis equipment and the surrounding environment.
People aged 56 — those born in 1970 — who are covered by this year's national health screening program can receive a free hepatitis C antibody test, and those who test positive for antibodies can confirm infection through an RNA test. Authorities recommended that people in that age group check their infection status through screening and receive treatment if infection is confirmed.
The most recent previous cluster of hepatitis C infections occurred in Daegu in 2023, with 23 cases.