Veterans possibly infected with HIV

A Veterans Administration Hospital in Missouri recently made news when it was found out that over 1800 service members may have been exposed to the HIV virus as well as hepatitis. Veterans who had dental care performed at the John Cochran VA medical Center in St. Louis Missouri received letters informing them of the possible exposure.

Rep. Russ Carnahan stated on Tuesday that there will be an investigation into this matter and a letter has been sent to the president of the United States, Barack Obama, concerning the issue. Carnahan also went on to say that it is totally unacceptable that any member of the Armed Forces, who has served and risked their lives for the safety of America, should now have to worry about their own safety when receiving medical care from a Veterans Administration hospital.

The exposure is believed to have come from dental instruments that were improperly washed. The Chief of Staff at the hospital stated that there were some dental technicians who were hand washing dental instruments and then putting them in the cleaning machines. The proper procedure is to place the instruments in the cleaning machines without any prior washing. This improper procedure went on from February 2009 until March 2010.

The VA hospital in question has since set up special centers for testing and educating those who may have been infected. There have been other instances of VA hospitals not following proper procedure. In June of 2009, as many as 3,400 patients who received colonoscopys and similar procedures were told that they may have been infected by the instruments used performing the procedure.