The West Australian Health Department says it does not know how a patient at Perth’s Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) contracted hepatitis C last year.
Blood tests in September revealed the person, whose identity and sex cannot be revealed for reasons of confidentiality, had contracted the blood-borne virus.
The department said while it was believed the patient was infected at FSH, it was not known precisely how the infection occurred, despite an investigation into the incident having taken place.
A spokesman said the patient had undergone an operation at FSH for an unrelated issue earlier in the year.
The operation had taken place immediately after that of a patient who had Hepatitis C, he said.
He said the patient had “fully recovered” from the virus.