April 3, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

UCLA Medical Center officials to continue outreach to potential “superbug” patients

Seven patients have been infected with the bacteria, and two of them have died, hospital officials said. (Thinkstock)
Seven patients have been infected with the bacteria, and two of them have died, hospital officials said. (Thinkstock)

Officials at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center will continue outreach efforts today to patients potentially affected by a”superbug” outbreak that has infected at least seven people, killing two.

The hospital is notifying 179 patients who underwent endoscopic procedures between Oct. 3, 2014, and Jan. 28 that they may have been exposed. Seven patients have been infected with the bacteria, and two of them have died, hospital officials said.

Hospital officials insisted Thursday they followed all required procedures in handling the outbreak. They are even reaching out to patients who likely were not treated with a pair of medical scopes later found to be infected with the potentially deadly carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, bacteria.

The infections were traced to two of seven Olympus-manufactured duodenoscopes used by the hospital for the procedures, which are conducted to diagnose and treat diseases of the liver, bile ducts and pancreas. The hospital is notifying all 179 of the patients, even though not all of them were treated with the two scopes that carried the bacteria.

“We’re being very cautions and we’re actually contacting all patients who underwent (endoscopic procedures) … even if another scope was used on them,” said Dr. Zachary Rubin, the hospital’s director of infection prevention.

Dr. Robert Cherry, the hospital’s chief medical and quality officer, said a wider range of notification — including to patients not treated with the suspect scopes — was decided upon out of “an abundance of caution.”

“We’ve sent letters out, we’ve placed phone calls to each of those patients. We are offering free testing for those patients as well as any type of potential treatment options and discussions about those options,” he said.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a warning to hospitals through its safety communications systems about duodenoscopes. It said the design of the scopes may make them more difficult to clean, and it urged that they be washed meticulously.

UCLA officials said they had been following all the required steps for sterilizing the scopes, which are inserted through the throat and considered minimally invasive, but the infections still managed to spread.

The hospital has now switched to a more thorough cleaning system, involving a disinfection process at the hospital, then at an off-site process that uses ethylene oxide gas to sterilize the equipment.

Potentially exposed patients at UCLA are being offered a home testing kit that will then be analyzed at the hospital.

Hospital officials said similar exposures to CRE have been reported at other American hospitals that use the same type of scopes.

As soon as the infection was identified at UCLA, hospital officials said they notified the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, the department’s deputy chief of acute communicable disease control, hailed the work done by UCLA to identify the infection and reach out to patients.

The hospital “followed the procedures appropriately throughout,” Schwartz said.

He also stressed that the outbreak “is not a threat to the health of the public in L.A. County.”

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are assisting the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in its investigation of the UCLA infections.

CRE is a family of bacteria that is resistant to many common antibiotics. The bacteria can cause infections in patients who have other serious medical problems or who are “undergoing operations or other invasive procedures,” hospital officials said.

Since 2012, there have been about a half-dozen outbreaks affecting up to 150 patients in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington State, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Last month, Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle acknowledged that 32 patients were sickened by contaminated endoscopes from 2012 to 2014 with a bacterial strain similar to CRE. Eleven died. But, according to The Times, Virginia Mason said other factors may have contributed to their deaths because many of them were already critically ill.

Tags: , in News
Related Posts

Scoop Dreams Come True: Van Leeuwen Launches New Beverly Hills Shop

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

Van Leeuwen’s Beverly Hills Opening Comes With Sweet Perks Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, a New York City-born brand celebrated for...

WeHo’s WeHappy Wednesdays Serve Up Big Discounts In Addition to Zero Parking Fees

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

Free Parking and $5 Cocktails? WeHo Makes Wednesdays Worth It The City of West Hollywood and the West Hollywood Chamber...

Saijo Hand Roll Rolls into Culver City with Premium Japanese Ingredients

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Binchotan-Fired Perfection: Saijo Rolls Out Premium Sushi in West LA A new destination for hand rolls and Japanese culinary craftsmanship...

(Video) Check Out Bernie’s, a New Pop Up at Citizen Public Market in Culver City

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Made with fresh frozen fruit and a toasted merengue topping these flavors are irresistible. The pop up will be at...

From Cocktails to Coffee: U.S. Tariffs Threaten Imports, Jobs, and Your Grocery Bill

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Major Price Hikes Expected for Coffee, Wine, Chocolate, and Butter  A sweeping new set of tariffs announced by former President...

Levain Bakery to Open Venice Location with Special Guests and Charitable Twist

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Bigger Than a Cookie: Levain’s Venice Opening Is a Flavorful Fundraiser Levain Bakery, the cult-favorite cookie destination founded in New...

LAX Airport Server Finds Hate-Filled Message From Unidentified Diners

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Waiter Says He Was Stunned by the Message Left by Customers Guillermo Ortiz, who works at Planet Hollywood inside the...

Sunset Strip Staple Le Petit Four Shuts Down After Landlord Pulls the Plug

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

End of an Era: Le Petit Four Forced to Close in West Hollywood In a stunning reversal to the upbeat...

Metro LA Pushes Back Sepulveda Transit Community Meetings

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Environmental Review Delay Prompts Metro to Reschedule  Metro announced that community meetings scheduled for early April to discuss the Sepulveda...

WeHo Unveils ‘WeHappy Wednesdays’ to Support Shops and Restaurants

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

New West Hollywood Plan Makes Midweek Outings Easier and Cheaper In a bid to boost foot traffic and economic recovery...

County Board Approves New Homeless Agency, Redirecting Millions from Existing System

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

With Billions on the Line, LA County Moves to Centralize Homeless Response Los Angeles County is making a dramatic shift...

Put the Phone Down: LAPD and CHP Targets Distracted Drivers in April Crackdown

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Hands-Free Law Violations Could Now Cost You More Than Just a Fine Throughout April, the Los Angeles Police Department will...

Kim Delaney, Partner Cleared After Weekend Arrest in Marina del Rey

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Emmy-Winning Actress and Partner James Morgan Released Kim Delaney, the Emmy-winning actress recognized for her roles in NYPD Blue and...

(Video) Spending an Afternoon at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Go To Pacpark.com For Tickets and More Information. Go To https://t.co/HneRcysYh5 For Tickets and More Information. #amusementpark #rides #rollercoaster #summer...

Matū Kai to Debut in Brentwood With Grass Fed Wagyu and Global Flair This Week

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Farm-To-Fork Beef, Wood-Fired Flavors, and Sustainability Meet on San Vicente The team behind Beverly Hills’ acclaimed steakhouse Matū will soon...