Ministry finds IDs of hep C patients

The health ministry said Monday it has found documents with the names or initials of 118 out of 418 people who developed hepatitis C from a tainted blood product, reversing its earlier claim that it had no data to confirm any of their identities.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20071023a3a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='163'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. President Natsuki Hayama –

and Vice President Takeshi Komine (right) face reporters at the health ministry Monday. KYODO PHOTO

The 118 are among 418 hepatitis C patients infected by tainted fibrinogen made by the now-defunct blood product maker Green Cross Corp.