(CNN) — Nearly 450 patients may have been infected with hepatitis and HIV over the past two years due to improper use of intravenous drugs, officials at a Massachusetts hospital say.
Salem Hospital said in a statement Thursday that the possible exposure involved patients who requested endoscopy, a procedure in which a doctor inserts a tube-like instrument into the body for examination. The hospital did not provide further details on how the possible exposure occurred.
Salem Hospital has notified all patients who may have been exposed and is testing people for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, which are “standard tests for possible exposure to these viruses,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement. told CNN in an email.
“To date, there is no evidence that this incident resulted in any infection,” the hospital said in a statement. “We have determined that the risk of infection to the patient is minimal. We sincerely apologize to those affected,” he added.
The hospital learned of the possible exposure this year and has offered free screenings and set up a hotline for clinical staff to answer questions.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is aware of the possible exposure and has concluded the risk of infection is very low, according to a statement to CNN.
The hospital is working with the state’s public health department to “control the situation.”
“To date, ongoing investigations have found no evidence of infection as a result of these exposures,” the department said.
Hepatitis B and C are liver infections caused by viruses that can be spread by sharing needles, syringes and other injection equipment or through sexual contact.
In 2018, more than 3,000 patients at a surgery center in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, were at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. An investigation by the New Jersey Department of Health found that employees at HealthPlus Surgery Center did not follow sterilization procedures and medical instruments were not properly cleaned.
In 2008, an acute hepatitis C outbreak was linked to the Las Vegas Endoscopy Center, according to a report from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. An investigation has found that unsafe injection practices put patients at risk of exposure.
CNN’s Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.
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