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Patients at South Dakota urology clinic may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis
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Patients treated at a South Dakota urology clinic may have been accidently exposed to HIV and hepatitis after employees of the clinic reused some medical products that were intended to be single-use only.
Officials from the South Dakota Department of Heath, conducting a routine inspection at Siouxland Urology Center in Dakota Dunes, S.D., found that employees at the facility were reusing sterile saline bags, tubing and other medical supplies from cystoscopies.
About 5,700 patients treated at the facility since 2002 are now being contacted and warned about potential exposure to HIV and hepatitis.
According to the Siouxland Urology Center’s website, the facility will be offering free HIV and hepatitis testing for any patients who may have been put at risk.
“Though the risk to our patients of exposure to any virus here is minimal, we are offering free blood tests to patients who received cystoscopic procedures … to put to rest any concerns regarding these issues,” information on the website states.
The Siouxland Urology Center is now operating under a provisional state license.