A team at the hospital was able to help a patient who had made around 1,000 visits to hospitals in the London area but still remained unwell.

Chest consultant Dr Syed Tariq diagnosed Mrs Christine Wicks as suffering from actinomycosis which was thought to have been all but consigned to history thanks to antibiotics.

The story, published in the Lynn News, also made national news last month and Dr Tariq and Mrs Wicks were inundated with letters and phone calls from people who have suffered the same symptons and now a website has been set up by the QEH.

Mrs Wicks, of Long Sutton, spent many years suffering from the condition before her diagnosis after she moved to the area, and is now being treated with daily three-hour doses of drug treatment administered by her husband Fred who had to be specially trained.

Actinomycosis is a bacterial infection leading to abcesses, fever and muscle pain.

If left untreated it can spread to the heart and brain and can lead to meningitis. It was common in medieval times right up to the time antibiotics became widespread.

"We have been contacted by people from around the country. It seems this medical condition may be more common than doctors thought, because it has been surpressed to a certain extent by the general use of antibiotics. Many of those who have been in contact have felt totally isolated, so having a discussion group on the Internet will help us share knowledge," said Mrs Wicks.

The group can be accessed at: http://groups.google.com/group/actinomycosis and it can also be linked from the QEH site at: www.qehkl.nhs.uk