(CNN) – You’re due to go in for a medical procedure. But after what happened at a UCLA hospital, you’re a little apprehensive.
Two patients died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in a superbug CRE outbreak, caused by two medical scopes that still carried the bacteria even after they were disinfected.
In addition to the two victims, seven hospital patients were infected with the deadly superbug between October and January. The medical center has contacted 179 others who had endoscopic procedures between October and January and is offering them home tests to screen for the bacteria.
The superbug, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, can kill up to half the patients who contract them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.