Thursday, Feb. 19:
Reports indicate as many as 179 people were exposed to the superbug.
Wednesday, Feb. 18:
Superbug-contaminated endoscopes may be responsible for two deaths at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
More than 100 patients may have been exposed to the bug, called Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, the LA Times reports. Seven patients are confirmed to be infected.
“UCLA is now utilizing a decontamination process that goes above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards,” a UCLA spokeswoman said to the LA Times.
The exposures occurred from October 2014 until January 2015.
CRE bacteria are dangerous because they are resistant to the most powerful antibiotics available. It was dubbed the "nightmare bacteria" by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013.
About half of patients with a blood infection of CRE die from it.
CRE infections are most common in hospital settings, according to the CDC. Those most at risk are people with an invasive medical device, such as a ventilator or catheter. Healthy people are generally not at risk.
The bacteria, usually a strain of E.coli or Klebsiella, was first discovered in 2001.
Gavin Stern is a national digital producer for the Scripps National Desk.
