Western Washington healthcare facilities are dealing with incidents of potentially dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria, according to an article on the KIRO website.
Four cases of a specific type of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, or CRAB, bacteria were recently found at a nursing rehabilitation facility.
According to public records, two of the patients died in early 2019 and two others were colonized with the bacteria, though the Washington Department of Health said it was unclear to them how the two patients died.
Tracking the cases is tricky, as the facilities are not required by law to report the cases. Symptoms of an infection can vary depending on the vulnerability of a patient.