MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Former patients who tested positive for HIV or hepatitis will not be able to show they were infected by equipment at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, Dr. Jim Bagian, the VA’s chief patient safety officer, said Friday.
Bagian said the patients won’t be able to prove they were even exposed to endoscopic equipment that wasn’t properly sterilized. It was discovered in December that equipment was either not properly cleaned or set up.
Five patients have tested positive for HIV and 33 have tested positive for hepatitis since February.
Dr. David A. Greenwald, a spokesman for the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, said that although the patients recently tested positive, they could have had the viruses for years without showing symptoms.
by the associated press
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