Missouri-based hospital reportedly exposes more than 1,800 patients to HIV, hepatitis

A total of 1,812 patients may be at risk of developing hepatitis or AIDS after receiving dental treatments at the John Cochran Veterans Administration Medical Center in St. Louis, according to CNN.com.

From February 2009 to March 2010, certain procedures for cleaning dental tools at the center were not followed properly. Investigators believe that some of the employees were washing the instruments by hand, which is against hospital protocol that requires all tools to be cleaned by machines only, the news source reports.

While the center is planning on having special clinics and educational outlets available to patients who were potentially infected, state officials don't feel these efforts are enough to compensate for the hospital's error.

"This is absolutely unacceptable," said Russ Carnahan, a Democratic Representative from Missouri. He added that "no veteran who has served and risked their life for this great nation should have to worry about their personal safety when receiving much needed healthcare services from a Veterans Administration hospital."

In 2006, more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. were infected with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.