‘Superbug’ outbreak raises questions about medical scope
By ALICIA CHANG
Feb. 19, 2015 11:08 PM EST
Two people have died and five more have been infected, supposedly due to a carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, after undergoing endoscopic procedures.
The Associated Press story suggests that, “the infections may have been transmitted through two contaminated endoscopes that were used to diagnose and treat pancreatic and bile-duct problems. The instruments were found to have “embedded” infections even though they had been cleaned according to manufacturer’s instructions, said Dr. Robert Cherry, the hospital’s chief medical and quality officer.”
“You can very easily do everything right and still have some contamination,” said Dr. Deverick Anderson, an infectious-disease expert at Duke University. “We’re finding this is a problem, but it’s probably one that we don’t have a very good solution to right now.”
The article notes , “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an advisory warning doctors that even when a manufacturer’s cleaning instructions are followed, germs may linger.”
You can read the full story here: ‘Superbug’ outbreak raises questions about medical scope
