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Three VA Patients Test HIV-Positive From Non-Sterilized Equipment

Posted on: Sunday, 19 April 2009, 12:45 CDT

The Department of Veterans Affairs reported Friday that three patients exposed to contaminated medical equipment have tested positive for HIV.

Preliminary tests show one patient each from VA medical facilities in Augusta, GA, Murfreesboro, TN, and Miami have the virus that causes AIDS.

The VA's disclosure on Friday was the agency's first comment since April 3, when it reported one positive HIV test at an undisclosed facility.  

The three patients, which include the case announced April 3rd,  are among more than 10,000 undergoing HIV tests after being treated with endoscopic equipment that was improperly sterilized.

Samuel Mendes, a 60-year-old Vietnam Veteran, said he was surprised to learn of an HIV case linked to the Miami VA facility, where he undergone a colonoscopy.

"I was hoping and expecting to not get anyone contaminated like that," he told the Associated Press.

"It's probably a little worse than we thought."

Mendes was told he wasn't among those at risk.

The agency also reported 19 positive tests for hepatitis C and six positive tests for the hepatitis B virus at the three locations.  However, there's no way to confirm patients were exposed to the viruses at the VA facilities, the department said.

"These are not necessarily linked to any endoscopy issues and the evaluation continues," said the VA in its statement.

The VA is unsure whether veterans treated with the same kind of medical equipment at its other 150 facilities may have been exposed to the same errors, which took place prior to the agency’s national safety training initiative.

The mistake with the improperly sterilized equipment was corrected nationwide by the time the campaign ended March 14, according to an agency spokeswoman.

The problems exposed in December date back more than five years at the Miami and Murfreesboro hospitals.

Other than pointing to an ongoing review of the situation, VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts declined to elaborate on how widespread the problem might have been.

"…there is a very small risk of harm to patients from the procedures at each site,” she said in an e-mail to the Associated Press on Friday.

HIV results "still need to be verified" in additional tests.

According to the VA statement, there are 10,797 "potentially affected" patients, including 6,387 who had colonoscopies at Murfreesboro, 3,341 who had colonoscopies at Miami and 1,069 that were treated at the ear, nose and throat clinic at Augusta.

So far, about 5,400 patients have been notified of their follow-up test results, the agency said.

In its statement on Friday, the VA said it is "continuing to notify individuals whose letters have been returned as undeliverable, and working with homeless coordinators to reach veterans with no known home address."

The agency has assigned more than 100 employees at the three facilities to "ensure that affected veterans receive prompt testing and appropriate counseling,” it said in the statement.

All three facilities used endoscopic equipment made by Olympus American Inc.   According to a statement issued by Olympus, the company is assisting the VA in addressing problems with "inadvertently neglecting to appropriately reprocess a specific auxiliary water tube.”


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Source: redOrbit Staff

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