The Association for Professional Infection Control and Epidemiology has made access to carbapenem-resistent Enterobacteriaceae materials available after an outbreak of this "superbug" was reported at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
Here are five quick notes from the report:
1. CRE comes from bacteria founding a healthy person's digestive tract and can be displaced during serious medical care involving urinary catheters, intravenous catheters or surgery. This bacterium does not belong in the bladder or blood.
2. The digestive tract bacteria are antibiotic resistant, so infections are difficult to treat.
3. The CRE outbreak at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center was linked to a contaminated endoscope, highlighting the importance of endoscope cleaning at ambulatory surgery centers.
4. In an abstract reported at the 2013 annual conference, the percentage of 275 scopes that didn't pass cleanliness rating include:
• Duoendoscopes: 30 percent
• Gastroscopes: 24 percent
• Colonoscopes: 3 percent
5. The FDA issued a safety communication regarding ERCP endoscopes after the UCLA outbreak, which was the second of 2015.