STRATHFIELD — New South Wales health authorities urged thousands of former patients of Dr William Tam's dental clinic in Strathfield to be tested for bloodborne viruses after an audit found poor infection control practices. The state health ministry said patients may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, though it assessed the risk of infection as low.

The clinic was audited in April, when inspectors identified poor cleaning practices and inadequately sterilised equipment, Dr Zeina Najjar, a staff specialist in the Sydney Local Health District, said. Tam retired two weeks after the audit and has been de-registered as a dentist.

Dr Leena Gupta, public health clinical director of the Sydney Local Health District, said authorities believed Tam saw thousands of patients over the last 25 years and that no records existed to contact them directly. "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," Gupta said.

"People with HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C may not have any symptoms for decades, so it is important that people at risk of these infections are tested, so that they can access treatment as appropriate," she said. Gupta said the absence of patient records meant former patients could not be contacted directly and would need to present themselves for testing.

In 2018, around 10,000 patients in Sydney were asked to get a blood test after potential HIV and hepatitis exposure at a dental clinic in Haberfield. Last October, patients at a dental clinic in Mortdale were urged to get tested and the dentist was barred from practising after breaching infection control standards.