CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) are a family of germs, difficult to treat because they are highly-resistant to antibiotics. Because of this, the death rate of people who become infected with CRE is high (maybe as high as 50%).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website:
Healthy people usually do not get CRE infections – they usually happen to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings. Patients whose care requires devices like ventilators (breathing machines), urinary (bladder) catheters, or intravenous (vein) catheters, and patients who are taking long courses of certain antibiotics are most at risk for CRE infections.
Source:
"Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in Healthcare Settings". CDC. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
Feb 20, 2015:
UCLA Health updated yesterday's statement on potential CRE exposure stating:
- Only patients who underwent this particular procedure during that time frame are affected. No patients today at UCLA, including those undergoing endoscopic procedures, operative procedures, or clinic visits are at risk from this "super-bug" outbreak.
- UCLA Health has instituted stricter sterilization procedures for the particular scopes that were used, so that we now have one of the most stringent scope protocols in the United States.
- Visitors, volunteers and employees are not at risk.
Source:
(February 20, 2015). "UCLA statement on notification of patients regarding endoscopic procedures". UCLA Health. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
Feb 19, 2015:
In Los Angeles, UCLA Health released a statement saying 179 patients recently treated at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (UCLA Medical Center) had been notified of potential exposure to the CRE bacteria during endoscopic procedures. UCLA Health is a health system comprised of a group of hospitals, medical centers, and physicians in the Los Angeles area. The statement also said "A total of seven patients were infected; the infection was a contributing factor in the death of two patients.".
The FDA (Federal Drug Administration) issued a statement entitled Design of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Duodenoscopes May Impede Effective Cleaning: FDA Safety Communication stating that the complex design of ERCP endoscopes (also called duodenoscopes) require meticulous cleaning and sterilization.
Source:
(February 19, 2015). "UCLA statement on notification of patients regarding endoscopic procedures". UCLA Health. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
(February 19, 2015). "Design of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Duodenoscopes May Impede Effective Cleaning: FDA Safety Communication". FDA. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
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