Health Highlights: Sept. 19, 2009

Sept. 20 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

FDA Approves New AIDS Test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new test that detects both types of the virus that causes AIDS.

The FDA said Friday that Abbott Laboratories' Abbott Prism HIV O Plus test can detect HIV types 1 and 2. HIV type 2 is mostly found in West Africa, while HIV type 1 is made up of various virus subgroups found in both the United States and West Africa, the Associated Press reported.

The test will be used to screen for HIV in blood and organ donations.

HIV attacks the body's immune system, eventually causing AIDS. More than 1.1 million Americans are estimated to have HIV and 232,000 do not know it, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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VA Facilities Improve Endoscopic Safety: Report

Progress has been made in correcting the endoscopic procedure problems at Veterans Affairs medical centers that put thousands of patients at risk for HIV and other infections, according to a report released Friday by the VA's inspector general.

The IG said surprise visits to 128 VA medical facilities found that all were compliant in following procedures and all but one of the facilities showed staff were being properly trained in the use of endoscopic devices, the Associated Press reported.

Inspections earlier this summer at several facilities found that less than half were in compliance.

Early this year, about 10,000 people were warned they may have been exposed to infections while undergoing colonoscopies or other endoscopic procedures at VA hospitals in Miami, Augusta, Ga., and Murfreesboro, Tenn. Equipment used in the procedures was improperly cleaned.

Of those patients, 50 subsequently tested positive for infections, including eight who tested positive for HIV, the AP reported.