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These patients would have preferred to receive an invoice rather than this kind of mail… 5,000 patients at the Hospices Civils dental care center in Lyon received a letter asking them to take a screening test for HIV and hepatitis B and C. , a lack of sterilization of the equipment.
An investigation launched at the beginning of the year brought to light a possible lack of sterilization of equipment used at the dental center of the civil hospices of Lyon. Patients were potentially at risk of infection between May and December 19, 2022, according to the newspaper Progress.
The same material used on two different patients
But it was only in May 2023 that the patients concerned were notified by mail of this infectious risk and that they were invited to be tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C. This letter, sent to 5,000 patients , indicates that a “specific material” used during care received was “likely to have suffered a defect during its sterilization cycle”. An employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that on December 19, 2022, the same material was used on two different patients.
Worried patients
One of the patients concerned gave her testimony in the newspaper Le Progrès: “I’m really scared. I’ve struggled all my life, I wouldn’t want to have caught a mess like that a few months from retirement”. Another is surprised at the time that elapsed between the facts and the receipt of the mail. Her dental treatment for a toothache dates back to September 2022 but she only received the mail on May 16.
However, the civil hospices of Lyon want to reassure patients by indicating that the risk of contamination would be very low.