Dozens of patients who received treatment in a ward at Ninewells Hospital earlier this year are to be tested for hepatitis B.
NHS Tayside has contacted 36 patients to ask them to go to their GP to be tested for the infection after identifying a strain of the hepatitis B virus in a patient who was previously on the ward.
It says there are no new cases identified and the move, which takes the form of a simple blood test, is just a precaution.
A statement said: “As a precautionary measure, NHS Tayside has decided to recommend that other patients on the ward have a blood test to rule out the possibility of any other cases of this particular virus.”
Dr Kirsty Licence, consultant in public health medicine, has assured those patients contacted about the low risk of possible infection.
She said: “We are asking patients to arrange a blood test as a precautionary measure and I would stress that the risk of infection in these circumstances is low.
“We have undertaken a thorough investigation of this particular infection and have not identified any clear means by which this infection was acquired.
“No new infections with this particular strain of hepatitis B have been identified during our investigations to date. This means that we have no reason to think that anyone else may have acquired this infection, but we are taking a cautious approach and we believe precautionary testing is the most sensible in these circumstances.
“I would stress that we have already made contact with all those patients involved, and their GPs, directly. We have given them information and a special number to call for further information and advice should they need it.
“There is no increased risk to the wider public.”