CNN is reporting the Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an investigation into whether there is a connection between improperly sterilized endoscopy equipment and a veteran's positive HIV test.
This comes after more than 10,000 veterans were possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis at three VA facilities in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Augusta, Ga., and Miami, while undergoing colonoscopies and other procedures with equipment that had not been properly cleaned. The VA has sent letters to those potentially infected veterans, offering free testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
Of all the 17 positive test results for HIV and hepatitis, 11 were at the Murfreesboro facility, and six were from the VA's Augusta hospital.
