SEATTLE — A new report commissioned by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray has found that at least 250 people, mostly in the U.S., have contracted potentially deadly infections spread by contaminated medical scopes in the past three years.
Wednesday’s report by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee follows an investigation into outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections linked to the medical devices.
The Seattle Times says (http://goo.gl/SBjH0y ) the investigation found nearly double the 142 infections identified since 2010 by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The new figures include the outbreak at Seattle’s Virginia Mason Medical Center where 18 died between 2012 and 2014 after being infected with multidrug-resistant infections spread by scopes that could not be properly cleaned.
The report recommends a number of legislative and regulatory changes.
An FDA spokeswoman says the agency will carefully consider the recommendations, many of which it is already taking steps to address.
