U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan lashed out at the Veterans Administration for dragging its feet on answering quesetions about patients who may have been infected by improperly sanitized dental equipment at the John Cochran VA Hospital.

Carnahan sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. "This is not a question of public relations; it is a question of public health," Carnahan wrote.

Carnahan questioned why the agency has not released test results showing how many, if any, veterans contracted infections because of the dental equipment.

"I am at a loss as to why the VA has yet to indicate how many cases have been repoted to date," Carnahan wrote. The congressman also expressed frustration that the VA had not fully answered questions in an earlier letter he sent prior to a field hearing in St. Louis this month.