MONROEVILLE, Pa. -- Officials at a Pennsylvania hospital confirmed Wednesday that they have begun to notify a group of patients who recently underwent a colonoscopy at the hospital about an issue related to disinfection of the scope used for their procedure.

During maintenance on two recently purchased colonoscopes, the gastrointestinal lab staff at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville discovered that an auxiliary channel designed to flush the colon may not have been disinfected properly, reported WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh.

About 200 patients who underwent colonoscopy involving specific Olympus scopes at the hospital between Oct. 28, 2004, and Feb. 26, 2005, are encouraged to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing at the hospital as soon as possible.

The Olympus scope in question is the CFQ160A/L.

The screening consists of a simple blood test that will be repeated in six months.