More than 2,000 women have been warned that they may have contracted hepatitis C after being treated by a gynaecologist suffering from the virus.
Patients from 25 hospitals across England and two Scottish health boards were told of the scare in letters from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
They have been asked to take a blood tests to make sure they are safe.
The infected gynaecologist has been transferred to an area of healthcare where patients are not at risk.
The doctor, who has not been named, had not originally known he or she had the virus, which can lead to chronic liver disease.
Although hepatitis C does not often reveal symptoms, the virus can cause abdominal pain and jaundice
In rare cases it can cause cancer of the liver.
Source
Patients from 25 hospitals across England and two Scottish health boards were told of the scare in letters from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
They have been asked to take a blood tests to make sure they are safe.
The infected gynaecologist has been transferred to an area of healthcare where patients are not at risk.
The doctor, who has not been named, had not originally known he or she had the virus, which can lead to chronic liver disease.
Although hepatitis C does not often reveal symptoms, the virus can cause abdominal pain and jaundice
In rare cases it can cause cancer of the liver.
Source