Medical Center In MO May Have Infected nearly 2,000 Patients

(e3global)- A Missouri VA hospital may have exposed more than 1,800 veterans to potentially life-threatening diseases like hepatitis and HIV after patients visited the medical center for dental work.

Letters were recently mailed from John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis to 1,812 veterans alerting them they may be at risk of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, according to CNN.

The situation resulted from failure to clean dental instruments properly, said Gina Michael, the association chief of staff at the hospital.

 The tools were supposed to be sent through a special sterilization machine, but technicians were washing them by hand to avoid damaging them. The hand-washing of instruments started in February 2009 and continued until March of this year.

The violation was discovered during a routine inspection by a government medical team.

Rep. Russ Carnahan called the blunder “absolutely unacceptable,” and is demanding a formal investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.

 “No veteran who has served and risked their life for this great nation should have to worry about their personal safety when receiving much needed health-care services from a Veterans Administration hospital,” Carnahan said.

This isn’t the first time patients have been informed that medical tools weren’t being used properly.

In June, more than 3,000 patients who underwent colonoscopies were notified by Palomar Hospital in San Diego that they were at risk for infection because medical instruments were being reused.

In Missouri, the hospital set up a special clinic and hotline for veterans who think they were exposed. Carnahan said more could have been done to prevent the fiasco.

“I can only imagine the horror and anger our veterans must be feeling after receiving this letter,” he said. “They have every right to be angry.”