At least 3000 South Australians who have had open heart surgery in recent years are being told they may have been exposed to a rare infection linked to a machine.
SA Health says people who had surgery at Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders Private or Ashford Hospital between July 2011 and July 2016 could be susceptible to the infection but it is highly unlikely any have been affected.
About 1000 public patients will receive information this week about the issue with the machines, thought to have been contaminated during manufacturing in Europe.
A spokeswoman for the private hospitals says 1200 patients at the Ashford Hospital and 700 at Flinders Private will receive similar messages.
The contamination of the Sorin 3T heater-cooler machines, which control the temperature of a patient's blood during surgery, was first flagged by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in June 2015.
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In October the TGA confirmed that a patient in Queensland, the only reported case in Australia, is recovering from the Mycobacterium chimaera infection.
This infection only strikes down about one in 10,000 cardiac patients but it can develop up to five years after surgery.
Symptoms include fever, weight loss, shortness of breath, night sweats, joint or muscle pains, nausea, heat and infection around the surgical site.
Flinders Medical Centre's Head of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Associate Professor Jayme Bennetts said on Wednesday there was no evidence of any cases in SA.
He said the machines are being decommissioned in the state and will be replaced over the coming weeks, while other safety precautions are underway including testing and disinfection of the devices.
Last week NSW authorities reached out to patients who may have been affected at four Sydney hospitals between January 2012 and August 2016.
