More than 1,000 patients may have been exposed to HIV and other viruses after an error in the disinfection procedure

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Indiana Goshen Hospital alerted more than 1,000 surgical patients who may have been exposed to infectious diseases.

(CNN) - According to a Goshen Health press release, more than a thousand surgical patients at Goshen Hospital in Indiana may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B after an error in the surgical equipment disinfection procedure .

A technician missed a step in a multi-step cleaning process, possibly contaminating the surgical team, said Liz Fisher, a marketing specialist at Goshen Health.

The hospital identified 1,182 surgical patients between April and September 2019 that could have been affected, Fisher said.

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Those who may have been exposed were sent notification letters and offered free tests to detect viruses, according to Fisher.

Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by a blood-borne virus and is usually transmitted by sharing needles or equipment to inject drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hepatitis B is also a liver infection caused by a blood-borne virus, but it is transmitted when body fluid passes from an infected person to someone who is not infected, according to the CDC.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) weakens a person's immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection.

The hospital maintains that those patients who may have been affected constitute a "small subset", that the risk of exposure is "extremely low" and that free tests for viruses are offered "as a precaution."

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"While our experts in sterile processing and infectious diseases believe that the potential transmission of blood-borne viruses among patients is extremely remote, as a precaution, we want to verify through laboratory blood tests that patients have not suffered damage," according to a November 20 update of the hospital president and chief medical officer.

A call center has also been established for patients to ask questions and schedule tests, according to the press release.

CNN's Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.

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