pretty ridiculous, they certainly appeared to have taken their time. Why? VA Hospital May Have Exposed 1,800 Vets to HIV ST. LOUIS, Mo. — More than 1,800 veterans may have been exposed to several potentially deadly viruses including HIV after they received dental work at a St. Louis-area VA hospital. On Tuesday, The John Cochran Division of the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center began sending out letters to 1,812 veterans who were treated at the facility from February 2009 to March 2010. According to a statement from the VA, the dental equipment was sterilized – but it was “not sterilized to the exact specifications of the manufacturers guidelines.” Although the VA concluded that the risk of “infection was extremely low,” the agency decided it was still necessary to disclose the error to patients who were treated at the medical center during that 13-month period. They are now offering free blood tests to screen for HIV as well as hepatitis B and C. VA Hospital May Have Exposed 1,800 Vets to HIV - Infectious Disease - FOXNews.com