BEIJING – Chinese state media say 95 people have been hospitalized after a private clinic gave them injections suspected to be contaminated with hepatitis C.

The official Xinhua News Agency says police detained a surgeon at the clinic in Liaoning province Saturday.

Donggang city officials say 120 patients who received varicose vein treatment were traced and screened for the disease and 95 of those are undergoing further examination in hospital.

Xinhua said Tuesday that local authorities were tipped off that patients could be infected and the case is still being investigated.

The hepatitis C virus causes a liver disease that can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong condition that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer.