Veterans Hospitals Issue Infection Warnings to 13,000 Vets

DAYTON, Ohio -- About 13,000 veterans have been warned over the past two years that they should be tested for possible exposure to dangerous germs from poor infection control practices at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee.

So far, there have been eight confirmed HIV-positive results and 61 cases of hepatitis B or C. It's not known how many of the cases were caused by VA treatment or by other sources.

Health care-associated infections are a problem in public and private hospitals, and VA officials say their overall record of care to 6 million veterans a year is good.

But some veterans say they were upset to find their lives potentially in danger again, decades after serving in Vietnam and elsewhere.