Inspections show that Veterans Administration medical facilities made significant progress on fixing endoscopic procedure problems that potentially exposed thousands to HIV and other infections.

The director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta says she’s “100 percent sure” the hospital has corrected sterilization problems that may have exposed some patients to infectious body fluids.

An attorney for veterans who were possibly exposed to HIV and other infections at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals says his clients are waiting to hear if they will be compensated for mistakes that led to congressional hearings and new VA spending on patient safety.

Mistakes that put patients at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals at risk of possible exposure to HIV and other infectious body fluids will be discussed by a congressional panel. Among more than 10,000 former VA patients in Murfreesboro, Miami and Augusta, Ga., who the VA has warned to get follow-up blood checks, five have tested positive for HIV and 39 have tested positive for hepatitis.

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patient has tested positive for HIV since being treated with equipment that exposed thousands of patients to other patients’ body fluids.  The VA on Monday did not return telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment about the location of the medical facility where the patient was treated before testing positive for the virus that causes AIDS.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials say 16 patients exposed to contaminated equipment at its medical facilities have tested positive for viral infections, including hepatitis. VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said Friday that 10 colonoscopy patients from the VA medical center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., tested positive for hepatitis. She said six patients from a VA clinic in Augusta, Ga., tested positive for unspecified viral infections.