One veteran has tested positive for HIV and 16 others have tested positive for hepatitis B and C at 2 VA facilities where patients were recently notified that endoscopic equipment used in colonoscopies and other procedures had not been properly cleaned. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is currently investigating whether there’s a connection between the positive HIV and hepatitis tests and the improperly sterilized equipment.
The VA has sent letters to more than 10,000 patients who were treated at government-run facilities in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., urging them to be tested for HIV and hepatitis as a precautionary measure. In addition to the 1 HIV positive test, AP reports that at least 5 veterans have tested positive for hepatitis B and 11 have tested positive for hepatitis C. Eleven of the positive test results were from the Tennessee facility and 6 were from the Georgia hospital; no infections have been reported from Miami.
VA officials stress that it’s not yet clear whether there’s a connection between the unsterilized equipment and the positive test results, but the agency is conducting epidemiological investigations to determine "the possibility of such a relationship." Meanwhile, the VA is still reaching out to veterans who may have been exposed and urging them to be tested.
The agency says the errors in equipment processing were corrected at VA facilities nationwide as of March 14.
—Irene Tsikitas
