SEATTLE — A multidrug-resistant superbug has sickened dozens of people at a Seattle hospital, spread from patient-to-patient through contaminated equipment.
The Seattle Times reported investigators found the rare bacteria known as CRE — carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae — was likely spread through specialized endoscopes that had been cleaned according to manufacturers’ directions but still had some fo the deadly germs.
Virginia Mason Medical Center officials say they’ve changed their cleaning protocol for the devices, even though federal officials found no problem with their infection-control practices.
Doctors say 11 of the at least 35 patients infected at the hospital died, but it’s not clear what role, if any, the infection played in their deaths.
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