Nearly two years before superbug outbreaks hit UCLA and Cedars-Sinai medical centers, the maker of the scopes involved was already warning hospitals in Europe about the risk of such patient infections, according to an article on the Los Angeles Times website.
U.S. hospitals were't alerted by by Olympus Corp., the leading manufacturer of gastrointestinal scopes worldwide, until this year after news broke about the UCLA outbreak, in which two patients died.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) learned of scope warnings last summer but didn't alert U.S. hospitals
Olympus issued "important safety advice" to European hospitals and recommended a specific cleaning brush to help prevent contamination on its TJF-Q180V duodenoscope, the same model at the center of the U.S. outbreaks, the article said.
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