Guangdong's health department is investigating the cause of more than 100 hepatitis C infections in a neighbourhood in Zijin county that residents have blamed on a local clinic.
A department official confirmed that more than 100 cases of hepatitis C had been recorded in the county this year.
Residents who have written about their concerns online believe there are more than 200 cases, all living near one street. They suspect the Chengdong Health Clinic of spreading the virus by using unsterilised needles.
The virus is spread mainly by blood-to-blood contact or poorly sterilised medical equipment. Infections can lead to liver cancer.
A woman who was infected with hepatitis C told China Central Television that she often went to the local clinic when she had a cold or fever and saw the doctor re-using syringes.
Another resident said his family often went to the clinic and only those who received shots - himself, his wife, his grandson and granddaughter - had been infected.
A woman said: 'Me, my mother and my daughter have been infected with hepatitis C. My daughter is only fours years old.' She said their treatment would cost hundreds of thousands of yuan. 'Where are we supposed to get that much money?'
