USA TODAY: The deadly pattern of illnesses began to emerge in 2012 at hospitals in Seattle, Pittsburgh, Chicago. In each case, the culprit was a bacteria known as CRE, perhaps the most feared of superbugs, because it resists even “last defense” antibiotics — and kills up to 40% of the people it infects.
And in each case, investigators identified the same source of transmission: a specialized endoscope, threaded down the throat of a half-million patients a year to treat gallstones, cancers and other disorders of the digestive system. They found that the devices, often called duodenoscopes, accumulate bacteria that are not always removed by conventional cleaning, so infections can pass from patient to patient.
Yet neither the scopes’ manufacturers nor the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates them, have publicized or offered guidance on the problem. So, many doctors who use the scopes — and most of the patients they treat — don’t know the risks. Nor do they know that steps can be taken to cut those risks dramatically… (more)
