The Newfoundland and Labrador health authority said that it has identified 38 patients from Eastern Health's region who meet the criteria for re-testing, 24 out of these are no longer alive.

The release said: "In an effort to ensure that we identify as many potentially affected individuals as possible, and given previously recognized challenges with internal information systems, in November, Eastern Health engaged the services of the NL Centre for Health Information. During the past week, NLCHI has provided a number of patient charts for clarification."

Officials at Eastern Health are examining each chart to find if any patient needs re-testing. Officials are contacting the living patients and their physicians to inform them of the results. The re-testing process will at least take a month. Authorities are apologizing for the distress caused to patients and their families due to late results.

Release said: "We apologize for the distress this late identification may cause our patients, however, we also take some measure of reassurance that this enhanced review process by NLCHI has accomplished what it was designed to do."