Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Federal health officials said Wednesday that the deaths of three men after elective knee surgeries do not merit a national moratorium on the procedures.
State health officials Sunday urged hospitals and surgery centers in Minnesota to suspend the operations for one week. But Dan Jernigan, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday that officials had no plans to call for a national moratorium.
The CDC has asked officials in other states to alert them of deaths since Oct. 1 that occurred after certain knee or other large joint replacements. It also asked doctors to report unexplained illnesses after such surgeries.
One of the men was infected with a species of bacterium that produces a potentially fatal toxin. Officials have not determined whether the other two had the bacteria.
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