House Lawmakers Question FDA on Superbug Outbreak

Ten House lawmakers in a letter to FDA on Wednesday asked the agency to respond to several questions about the outbreak of a superbug bacteria, including how long officials had known about the risks of endoscopes linked to the outbreak. In February, UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center began notifying 179 patients who may have been exposed to Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, from contaminated medical endoscopes. Meanwhile, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday reported that four patients had been infected with CRE and up to 67 more might have been exposed after being treated with the same type of scope.

• "Federal Lawmakers Demand Answers From FDA on Superbug Response" (Terhune, Los Angeles Times, 3/5).