More than 4,200 patients who may have received insulin at a New York hospital on Wednesday were alerted of possible exposure to hepatitis viruses and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to possible blood contamination, officials and local media said.
According to Reuters, patients may have received insulin from a pen reservoir - not a single-use disposable needle - that could have been used on more than one patient, South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside on Long Island, near New York City, said.
"The risk of infection from this is extremely low," the hospital said in a statement, adding it was recommending patients "be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV."
When asked if anyone was confirmed to have been infected, a hospital spokeswoman said "not to my knowledge," Reuters reported.
The pen-shaped insulin injector devices, which contain a reservoir or cartridge, are often used by hospitals to give the hormone to patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
According to CDC, creating a risk of blood-borne pathogen transmission, even when the needle is changed, the pens should be limited to one patient because regurgitation of blood into the insulin cartridge can occur after injection, Reuters reported.
Some 200 of the more than 4,000 patients who were warned have signed up for free blood testing, WABC-TV reported.
According to Reuters, though it was unclear when the change occurred, the hospital seems to have changed its policy on the devices.
"South Nassau has already implemented a hospital-wide policy that bans the use of insulin pens and permits only the use of single-patient-use vials to administer prescribed insulin treatments to patients," the statement said.
While hepatitis refers to a group of viral infections that affect the liver, HIV can lead to AIDS, or the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, according to CDC.
