HEALTHY THURSDAYS: CRE Superbug....UCLA Warns Nearly 200 Patients About Dangerous 'Superbug' Exposure

BY BILL BRIGGS AND ANDREW BLANKSTEIN The UCLA Health System is notifying more than 160 patients that they may have been exposed to a bacterial "superbug" during endoscopies after an investigation found seven patients were infected — and the bug may have contributed to two deaths, the hospital said Wednesday. Patients being alerted underwent "complex" endoscopic procedures between October 2014 and January of this year, according to a statement emailed by Kim Irwin, spokeswoman for UCLA Health Sciences. And NBC News Investigations obtained an email — sent by Joshua Bobrowsky of the L.A. County Department of Public Health — stating the seven infections occurred at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, and that "patient notification letters of possible exposure" were sent Tuesday by UCLA to 169 patients. The "superbug" has been identified as carbapenem-resistant