California hospital investigates suspected superbug outbreak linked to scopes

Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California is investigating a suspected superbug outbreak associated with a duodenoscope that is linked to cases of deadly infections across the country, according to the Los Angeles Times. The hospital said it alerted health authorities about a potential link between three patients who have a pseudomonas bacteria and the medical scopes manufactured by Olympus Corp. used to treat them. Earlier this week, FierceHealthcare reported that the Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to three major manufacturers of these medical scopes linked to the deadly superbug outbreaks. Olympus, as well as Pentax and Fujifilm, did not properly report problems with the devices as required by law and in some cases, didn't ensure that they could be cleaned properly between uses, the FDA said. Huntington Memorial said it found the potential problem in June during a review of lab samples. Article