Devices Linked to Superbug Outbreak May Have Infected More Patients Than Thought, Health Officials Find

On Monday, Seattle health officials said that more patients across the country might have been infected with bacteria from medical endoscopes manufactured by Olympus America than previously estimated. Olympus' scopes have been linked to a Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae superbug outbreak at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. According to a report published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, researchers said that they "suspect endoscope-associated transmission of bacteria is more common than recognized and not adequately prevented by current reprocessing guidelines."

• "Olympus Scopes May Have Infected More Patients, Seattle Agency Says" (Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 3/30).