VA May Have Exposed Vets to HIV From Insulin Pens

More than 700 military veterans at a medical facility in Buffalo, N.Y., may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis because of improper use of insulin pens.

Officials with the Department of Veteran Affairs discovered that insulin pens were not labeled with patient's names, and therefore could have been used with multiple patients, according to YNN News.

Although the needles were apparently not reused, Rep. Chris Collins said there is a "very remote small chance that some bodily fluids could have backed up into the insulin open from one patient and therefore potentially been injected into another patient." However, because there were no needles shared, "the chance of passing the infection would be very, very slight."

According to a Department of Veterans Affairs report, about 716 patients were exposed to the insulin pens over a two-year period, and 570 of those patients are still living. Veterans who may have been exposed are now being notified for testing.