OT: VA Prostate biopsy between 1989 and 2003.....<shaking head>

[Guest guest]

Hepatitis C Movement for Awareness

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The first " press releases " on this VA warning about Prostate Biopsies,

did not mention dates and left the impression it was a recent event.

Well, it wasn't recent, and anyone that received a biopsy, for any

reason before June 2006, need to get tested for Hep C

VA offers free HIV, hepatitis tests- Veterans who had a prostate biopsy

between 1989 and 2003 are eligible for free HIV, hepatitis B and

hepatitis C screenings at their nearest Veterans Affairs facility.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans who had

prostrate biopsies during this period may have been accidentally exposed

to those diseases by being treated with instruments that were not

properly sterilized.

Individual VA centers are sending out letters to anyone who could have

been exposed during that time period. Veterans with concerns should call

even if they have not yet gotten a letter. For more information, call

982-2463 or (888) 982-2463.

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This is the original article and can't help but wonder if the American

Legion and VFW knew this??????

Vets Warned of Possible Virus Exposure

Friday, June 2, 2006

MILWAUKEE - More than 22,000 veterans who underwent prostate biopsies at

veterans' hospitals across the country are being warned that improperly

sterilized equipment may have exposed them to deadly viruses.

Officials said Friday it was unlikely someone could get infected by the

equipment, and no patient is known to have been sickened.

Still, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decided to offer free

blood tests as a precaution after officials in Maine questioned whether

the cleaning procedure was thorough enough, said VA spokesman Jim

Benson.

The prostate biopsy equipment includes a probe that, if improperly

cleaned, could retain traces of body fluids containing the viruses that

cause hepatitis or AIDS.

Since April, the VA has alerted patients of potential inadequacies with

the biopsy cleaning procedure at 21 medical centers in 18 states, plus

Puerto Rico.

So far, about 7,000 vets contacted the VA after receiving the letter and

about 2,000 have been tested, Benson said.

" It's too soon to have any information on their test results because

each of the potential diseases we might be worried about require not

only initial tests but confirmatory tests as well, " Benson said. " Right

now our first priority is getting information out to every veteran. "

Dennis Maki, an infectious disease expert at the University of

Wisconsin-Madison, said the prostate examination technique involves

inserting a stainless steel scope about the diameter of a pencil into

the rectum. Then doctors use a hollow needle to draw a sample from the

prostate gland.

The standard sterilizing procedure called for the equipment to be

flushed with a disinfecting solution, but officials grew concerned that

blood and fecal residue might remain unless the tube were physically

scrubbed as well.

It's possible but unlikely that someone could get infected that way,

said Erdmann, chief of staff of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.

" We're concerned for the safety of our patients, but really, the odds

are really quite low, " he said.

The problem wasn't manpower so much as cleaning instructions provided by

the manufacturer that didn't specify the need for a brush, Erdmann said.

The equipment was made by B-K Medical Systems in Denmark. Company

officials from neither B-K nor its Massachusetts-based parent company,

Analogic, immediately returned phone calls by The Associated Press on

Friday.

O'Rourke, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said he

was satisfied with the VA's response. " I don't know what more they can

do, " he said.

Gaytan, the director of veterans affairs for the American Legion,

said his group is reaching out to veterans to make sure the VA has

addressed their concerns.

" What the American Legion wants to make sure is that this mistake isn't

the responsibility of overworked VA staff, and if it is, they need to

hire more people, " he said.

On the Net:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/

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