Sydney dentist’s former patients urged to test for HIV and hepatitis

New South Wales health officials urged former patients of retired Sydney dentist Dr William Tam to get tested for HIV and hepatitis.

Thousands of former patients of a retired Sydney dentist have been urged to get tested for HIV and hepatitis after health officials identified poor infection-control practices at his clinic.

The New South Wales state health ministry said on Wednesday that people treated by Dr William Tam at his practice in Strathfield, in western Sydney, may have been exposed to bloodborne viruses including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Officials described the risk as low but said testing was important because the infections can have serious long-term health effects and may not cause symptoms for years.

Tam is retired and has been de-registered as a dentist, the ministry said.

“The poor infection control practices at Dr Tam’s practice means all former patients may be at low risk of a blood borne virus infection, which can have serious and long-lasting health impacts,” Dr Leena Gupta, public health clinical director of the Sydney Local Health District, said in the ministry statement.

Gupta said officials believe Tam treated thousands of patients over the past 25 years, but that there were no records available that would allow authorities to contact them directly. The ministry has therefore issued a public warning, advising former patients to see a doctor and arrange testing.

Dr Zeina Najjar, a staff specialist in the Sydney Local Health District, said at a news conference that the clinic was audited in April. Inspectors found poor cleaning practices and equipment that had not been adequately sterilised, according to the account reported by the BBC.

The warning follows similar infection-control concerns at other Sydney dental clinics in recent years. In 2018, about 10,000 patients were asked to get blood tests after possible exposure to HIV and hepatitis at a clinic in Haberfield. Last October, patients of a dental clinic in Mortdale were also urged to get tested after infection-control breaches, and the dentist was barred from practising.

Health officials have not reported any confirmed infections linked to Tam’s clinic in the supplied report. The immediate advice for former patients is to seek medical guidance and get tested.