Hundreds of patients at Buffalo's VA Medical Center could have been exposed to serious viruses due to the inappropriate handling of insulin pens.
The inadvertent re-use of the pens might have infected more than 700 patients with the Hepatitus B, Hepatitus C or the HIV viruses. Administrators claim that the possibility of transmission of the viruses is low, but the hospital is planning to contact all patients who are at risk. The flaw that allowed the problem to arise has been identified and is being rectified.
The VA is not divulging the names of any of those at risk.
A call center is being established to handle questions from concerned patients.