Close to 1,200 patients at risk at Indiana hospital due to sterilization lapses

Close to 1,200 patients  who underwent surgery between April 1 and September 30 at Indiana's Goshen Hospital may have been exposed to infectious diseases, according to an article on the WSTB website.

One of the hospital's surgical instrument sterilization technicians failed to complete a necessary step, meaning patients could have been exposed to hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus, health officials said.

The surgical instruments in question were still treated with other usual chemical disinfection and machine sterilization processes which include a wide margin of safety.

But the hospital can't determine if such instruments were completely sterile prior to use.

Read the article.