Around 200 people have been infected with hepatitis C in Zijin County in southern Guangdong Province, and many accuse a local clinic of being the source.

A large number of infected people said they received injections at the Chengdong clinic and claimed staff reused needles, China Central Television reported yesterday.

But local hygiene authorities have found no evidence to back these allegations and the investigation to find the source is continuing, the report said.

The outbreak was first recorded last October when several households around the densely populated Xiangshui Road area tested positive for hepatitis C.

Many households had more than one infected person, with seven cases reported in one family, the report said.

"Last year, my wife, my two grandchildren and I all received injections in that clinic. Now we have all contracted the disease," one elderly resident told CCTV.

He added: "Once you've received an injection at that clinic, that's you infected!"

Local residents said they always went to the Chengdong clinic on Xiangshui Road to receive treatment.

One outraged woman said: "Whenever I had a headache or cold, I went to the Chengdong clinic. But the doctors never used disposable needles, instead they reused needles."

Officials from the national disease center have been sent to Zijin County to see whether the clinic caused the outbreak.

Local hygiene authorities said they have found no evidence of procedure violations.

"It's hard to trace to the source because hepatitis C has a long incubation period and the virus is spread in various ways," said Shen Meidi, vice director of the Zijin County Health Bureau.

After infected residents asked how they could afford treatment, Zijin County decided to include hepatitis C care under local health insurance. This could save each patient 60,000 yuan (US$9,528) a year, the report said.

Hepatitis C is spread mainly through infected blood and can lead to liver cancer.

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