Medical scope linked to deadly bacterial outbreak

A medical scope in common use has been linked to a deadly bacterial outbreak at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Officials conceded yesterday the device could be so flawed as to not be able to be cleaned properly, Los Angeles Times reported. But they did not recall the device nor have they outlined any sterilisation procedures.

The potential problems with the device had been known to the US Food and Drug Administration for over two years, but it took action only after it was reported this week that two patients died in a new superbug outbreak at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

At least five other patients had tested positive for the drug-resistant bacteria, and 179 others might have been exposed.

The FDA's failure to act was criticised by many.

According to Diana Zuckerman, president of the non-profit National Center for Health Research, the FDA failed do its job properly.

Meanwhile an FDA spokeswoman said the benefits from the device outweighed the risks.

"If we pulled the devices from the market, we would prevent hundreds of thousands of patients from accessing a beneficial and life-saving procedure," said the spokeswoman, who, like other agency officials, spoke on condition she not be named. "So at this time, the continued availability of these devices is in the best interest of the public health."

Reports say the superbug called Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, was linked to a scope.

CRE which is resistant to most known antibiotics was among the worst bugs known in the medical community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, healthy people do not get CRE infections. Patients in hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare settings were mostly at risk especially patients who required devices like ventilators, urinary catheters or intravenous (vein) catheters.