Almost 600 former patients are being contacted by five hospitals in Dublin and Cork following the discovery that a surgeon who treated them has hepatitis B.
The possibility that any patient had been infected by contact with the doctor was extremely remote, according to Prof William Hall, consultant virologist at St Vincent's University Hospital.
The infection came to light when the doctor, whose name has not been released, was screened in connection with a job application.
The hospitals at which the doctor worked are South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital, Cork, January to April 1995 (11 patients); St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, May 1995 to June 2000 (375 patients); St James's Hospital, Dublin, July 2000 to June 2001 (13 patients); St Vincent's Private Hospital, Dublin, July 1995 to June 2000 (150 patients); and Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, February 1996 to May 2000 (29 patients).
The St James's patients have already been contacted, and every effort will be made by the hospitals to contact the other patients next week, the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) said.
The patients who are being contacted are those on whom the doctor performed operations or assisted in performing operations where the surgeon inserted a hand into the body. The doctor was not involved in any such procedures at the time of diagnosis and has not been involved in any since, according to the ERHA.
Mr Stephen McMahon, of the Irish Patients' Association, said yesterday he had been assured the risk was extremely low and patients would be contacted directly by hospitals. If people were concerned as to whether they were on the list he suggested they contact their GP.
About one in every 200 people in Ireland has been infected with hepatitis B at some time. Dr John Hegarty, consultant hepatologist at St Vincent's University Hospital, said 95 per cent of infected people get rid of the infection and become immune, often only believing they have had flu. Of the 5 per cent who become carriers of the infection, very few develop serious chronic liver disease.
Dr Mary Cronin, specialist in public health medicine at the National Diseases Surveillance Centre, said she believed anyone embarking on a career as a health worker should be screened so that if necessary they could be diverted away from types of work which carried a risk of infecting a patient.
Dr Blanaid Hayes, occupational health physician at Beaumont Hospital, said she believed all health workers should be vaccinated against hepatitis B.