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A medical device called a duodenoscope that's been linked to recent deadly superbug infections across the country was also connected to a 2013 outbreak at a Wisconsin medical facility that infected five people, America Tonight has learned.
WASHINGTON, DC – This afternoon, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles announced that four patients have been infected with a dangerous superbug and that an additional 68 people may have been exposed. This discovery comes just two weeks after it was reported that a similar superbug at UCLA killed two people and infected seven others. Both outbreaks were caused by CRE bacteria that were transmitted by contaminated Olympus duodenoscopes. As a result, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D - CA|33) made the following statement:
“I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation, or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.”
So went the oath of office of Representative Ted Lieu at his Los Angeles swearing-in ceremony – but not before a fire alarm at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Sunday, March 1, forced nearly 1,000 people out into the rain while firefighters investigated.
Directly after “God Bless America,” the fire alarm went off and everyone was told to evacuate the building.
The Food and Drug Administration, already under fire for its response to superbug outbreaks at U.S. hospitals, has tried and failed twice to get medical scope manufacturers to prove their controversial devices can be cleaned of deadly bacteria.
The embattled agency said Monday that it didn't request the information until spring 2014 — despite earlier warnings about tainted scopes — and that it has given device makers three chances to validate their cleaning protocols.
Those new disclosures drew immediate criticism from a federal lawmaker and some consumer advocates.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) held his district swearing-in ceremony Sunday at Royce Hall, where he called for comprehensive immigration reform, support for homeless veterans and action on climate change.
About 900 people, including government officials and residents of the district, gathered to watch Lieu take his oath of office.
Lieu represents the congressional district that includes UCLA and Westwood. He won an election to the House of Representatives in November, defeating Republican Elan Carr and replacing Henry Waxman, who represented the district for 40 years.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | CA-33) made the following statement in response to a report issued by the Concerned Veterans of America (CVA) calling for the privatization of veterans’ care in America. The CVA is a partisan political organization largely funded by Charles and David Koch.
WASHINGTON, D.C - Today, Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles) released the following statement on the death of actor Leonard Nimoy. Mr. Nimoy died earlier today at his home in Bel Air, California. He was 83.
Last week, UCLA Medical Center notified 179 patients that it had potentially exposed them to a fearsome "superbug," and urged them to get tested.
The hospital accidentally infected seven people in procedures involving specialized endoscopes, called duodenoscopes, that proved difficult to thoroughly clean. Two of the people died.
On Sunday, February 15, a pre-opening Open House at Anam Cara invited guests to visit and tour the progress of the tiny, six-bed hospice—two at full price (comparable to board and care homes in the area), two at an adjusted rate and two community beds free of charge—that will accommodate terminal patients (up to a two-month prognosis) and their families.
A California congressman wants answers from the Food and Drug Administration in the wake of superbug infections at a local hospital now linked to contaminated medical scopes.
John Allen, a gastroenterologist and the clinical chief of digestive diseases at Yale School of Medicine, said he witnessed the bacterial infections from the same type of intestinal medical scopes in Minnesota back in 1987, according to CNN.